Helen Lee Higginbotham Groah was born November 25, 1930, and passed away on May 1, 2024, at the age of 93. Helen was born to Olive Mae and Ira Francis Higginbotham in Dickinson, West Virginia and grew up with her thirteen siblings. Helen’s childhood was difficult, and she spent some time in a boarding house and with her older sister. Helen was the youngest of the siblings and was the last surviving member of her family. She graduated in 1948 from DuPont High School, in Belle, West Virginia.
Helen married her high school sweetheart in 1949, Jerry Groah, Jr., that she had met at a school dance (where Jerry picked her shoe out of a pile). They were married while Jerry was serving at Chanute Air Force Base, IL. This year they would have been married for 75 years, now they are celebrating together.
Helen and Jerry resided in Quincy, West Virginia for a short time then moved to McConnelsville, Ohio. They then moved to Columbus where she supported Jerry while he attended Ohio State University. They moved to Titusville, Florida in 1958 to be a part of the space program. She began working for McDonnell Douglas until they had three children and then became a stay-at-home mom, having a set of twins first. When the kids were older, she held various jobs, including Woolworths in Sears Town Mall, then working for the Clerk of the Circuit Court for many years. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Titusville then, after moving to Mims, she was a member of Mims United Methodist Church.
While residing in Florida, Helen enjoyed taking family road trips to visit out-of-state friends and relatives. She enjoyed camping and boating with family and friends. She also enjoyed traveling the United States with her husband, visiting nearly every state. Her travels included many antique car shows displaying their 1931 Model A Ford. She loved giving to the community, Helen and Jerry delivered Meals on Wheels for over 10 years. She was very creative and enjoyed knitting and sewing, doing and teaching many craft projects with her children and grandchildren while encouraging creativity in all of us. She knitted awesome baby blankets for the family to give as presents. Helen was a devoted coin collector and shared her passion with her kids and grandkids and included them in specific coin searches. She put together tons of puzzles then became hooked on making beautiful bead art. She was an avid fan of soap operas, namely The Young & the Restless and The Bold & the Beautiful, if she couldn’t watch the original broadcast, she would record them and watch them later.
Helen was sweet, kind, generous and loved her family with all her heart and was so happy she got to hold her great granddaughter, which literally brought tears to her eyes.
She is predeceased by her husband of 74 years, Jerry Groah, Jr., parents and her siblings. She is survived by many relatives and her three children – Kevin Groah, Karen Hudson (Mark) and Melodie Jackson (Kevin), five grandchildren - David Groah, Megan Porta (Chris), Jeremy Porta (Lauren), Jacob Groah and Michael Groah, and one great granddaughter Leighton Porta.
Flowers may be sent to Wylie-Baxley Funeral Home, 1360 N. Courtenay Pkwy, Merritt Island, FL 32953.
A graveside service will be on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at Brevard Memorial Park, 320 Spring Street, Cocoa, FL 32927.
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