Helen Roehl O'Connor, age 89, of Knoxville, died surrounded by the love of family and friends on July 16, 2021 due to resulting complications from a fall in her kitchen two weeks prior. She and her late husband, Larry, were the best parents ever of their three daughters, Pam O’Connor Wood, Leslie O’Connor and Patricia (Tish) O’Connor.
Helen attended the University of Tennessee and Knoxville Business College, was a member of Alpha Delta Pi, and the D.A.R. She served as Treasurer and/or Secretary there and on many other committees over her lifetime.
And let's not forget her accounting and business background working for the State of TN, a chemical company, a construction company, as well as H&R Block. She was affectionately known around the house as the “bean counter" and the “Excel queen”-all keystrokes memorized.
She was a voracious reader who devoured every printed word that came across her eye-line, including happily reading an annual prospectus report from cover to cover.
She was one of the first people in her neighborhood, and most certainly one of the first females in her peer group, to own the first mass produced personal computer (1977), the TRS-80, complete with a dot matrix printer. Her analytical and technical abilities lasted to the end – happily tapping away on her iPhone, her iPad, and her Netflix shows.
Helen was an amazingly talented woman. She was a seamstress-making costumes for Barbie dolls to bridesmaid dresses for her daughter’s wedding; knitting beautiful afghans; crocheting Christmas tree ornaments; needlepoint in all shapes and sizes; drawing and painting watercolors with a talent that was innate and to be admired.
She and Larry realized their retirement dream of attending watercolor painting workshops in North Carolina and the Southeast, attending over 80 of them (mostly at Cheap Joe’s in Boone, NC) over the years. They both went on to be shown in two juried watercolor shows, at the Fountain City Art Center and the Emporium.
She loved maps-studying them, reading them, highlighting them-she was the consummate navigator on a road trip. And finally, reading about the history of anything as well as watching documentaries. She wanted to know about anything and everything, and she made notes about so many subjects.
Everyone who met her loved her, and no one can remember ever hearing her say anything bad about anyone, ever! She was sweet, gentle and soft-spoken with a deep strength that surprised many. She had a great sense of humor which could be sly and sassy on occasion, and she loved to laugh. Her greatest joy was spending time with her daughters and her best friend, husband Larry. Together they created a strong family unit which was always described as blessed-and it was and is.
For example, we O’Connors were known for and the envy of so many people for our weekly Family Art Night get-together every Tuesday night for 20 years, where they taught us to draw and paint and shared their love of art with us. The talking and laughter also became a form of group therapy for us all and we are forever grateful for the opportunity to get to know our parents adult-to-adult.
To mourn her: daughters, Pam, Leslie and Patricia(Tish), her granddaughter Ellen Ruth Freer, her brother William Edward Roehl, Jr., nieces Karen Roehl and Julie McIntosh, nephew Steve Roehl and their families, and several beloved cousins across the country, as well as artists in the High Country Watercolor Society.
You may honor her memory with donations to Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville, Fountain City Art Center, the American Cancer Society, PBS or Mobile Meals.
Arrangements are being handled by Berry Highland Memorial.
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