Helen Harrell Manry, 89, of Edison, Georgia, was born October 2, 1934 in Donalsonville, Georgia, daughter of the late Eunice Iva Plowden and John Garrett Harrell. She passed away Saturday, March 16, 2024 in Lufkin, Texas.
Helen often discussed her ancestors, siblings, and extended family with her children—sons Eugene Allen Manry, Jr. of Hiawassee, GA, Garrett Plowden Manry of Knoxville, TN, and daughter Holly Harrell Manry Gonzales of Lufkin, TX. She often mentioned her mother, Eunice Plowden Harrell, had been born in 1899, while her father, John Garrett Harrell, rode horseback in the U.S. Cavalry during wartime.
Helen prided herself on her education and three advanced master’s degrees: one from the University of Dijon, Dijon, France, and attending Vanderbilt, Emory, and FL State Universities. Although Helen loved to explore through travel, she settled and resided in a small town in Edison, GA, where she had married Eugene Allen Manry, Sr., and had their three children, even though their marriage ended after thirty years.
Her educational background prepared her first for a professorship at Andrew College in Cuthbert GA, where she taught 17 years in French, English, and some Spanish—after a summer training in Zacatecas, Mexico, then for a second career in Calhoun County libraries after returning to school in Library Science in mid-life. A prolific reader herself, it was not unusual for Helen to read a book a day for weeks on end in her earlier years when her eyesight had been keener. A card-carrying member of MENSA, Helen only joined after the death of her close friend Pat Schramm, who had urged her to join the organization with her for years prior.
Helen loved to travel anywhere, anytime, and particularly loved Paris. She literally kept her bags packed in her home, ready to go. She treated her only grandsons, John Isaac Gonzales and David Sebastian Gonzales, to two trips to Paris, among other memorable trips. She and her younger son Garrett hosted Lionel Maestroni in their Georgia home for a year in a foreign exchange program while Lionel had been in high school. Lionel adjusted well to his Southwest GA setting, although it had been a substantial change from his life in Paris. This placement had a domino effect. Her daughter Holly and her sons Isaac and Sebastian, in turn, hosted Lionel’s sons, Alexander and Nicolas, in their Lufkin home during a couple of summers, while Isaac later visited the Maestronis in Paris. An avid gardener, one of the highlights of Helen’s retirement had been a garden tour of England. She enjoyed recalling adventures to California, Las Vegas, and Mexico with foreign students studying at Andrew College, when she had been placed in charge of their travel during Spring and Summer breaks. When she was no longer able to travel alone as she had aged, her daughter Holly would often accompany her on cruises and favored locations en route back and forth from Georgia to Texas and back again.
Helen was a survivor: two bouts of separate cancers, two heart surgeries, two brain surgeries, and two hip surgeries. She is also survived a severe, almost deadly case of malaria at 11. The last hip surgery had been a success, but the recovery process on the third day proved too much for her body. Her death comes as she had been adjusting to a new life and surroundings at Pinnacle Senior Living of Lufkin, where nurses and staff had been truly kind and welcoming.
Married in the same church as her mother, the first bride to wed there, Edison Baptist Church was her church home for decades. Later in life, she attended and supported other churches. Often struggling with aspects of her Christian faith, Helen knew her ultimate health, hope, and wholeness were in the hands of Jesus. Many who survive her know all the questions she had pondered have been answered in His love.
Helen is survived by her two sons, a daughter, two grandsons, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Her parents preceded her in death. In fact, Helen was the last surviving sibling of five in her immediate family and eight siblings in her ex-husband’s family. The death of her beloved cat Sheila of 17 years had also seemed like the death of a family member to Helen.
Helen was preceded in death by all of her siblings: Mary Spencer (husband Larry) of Richmond, VA; John Plowden Harrell (wife Sue) of Gainesville, GA; Robert "Bob" Harrell (wife Julianna) of Alexandria, VA, and Martha Campbell (husband David) of Diamondhead, MS.
In keeping with Helen’s explicit wishes, a memorial service will be held at the Edison United Methodist Church in Edison, GA on May 25, 2024 at 11AM with visitation prior to the service at 10AM. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Shiloh Fellowship, or Grace Ministries International, c/o Laurie Turner, missionary and family friend.
Condolences may be offered at www.gipsonfuneralhome.com
Services have been places in the trust of Gipson Funeral Home.
SHARE OBITUARYSHARE
v.1.14.0