Helen M. Meredith

Lt. Col. Helen M. Meredith peacefully passed away at her Poinciana Florida home on Tuesday, March 13th, 2018, at the age of 91 to be with her Lord and Savior. Helen (aka Margy, Schotzie or Margaret) was a native of South Charleston, West Virginia where she attended local schools and received her RN nursing certification. She then attended Eastern Nazarene College, where she jointly served as school nurse while preparing to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1953. From there she joined the US Air Force as a nurse, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Her 24 year career involved tours of duty in Greenland, Spain, Germany, Japan, and Turkey. Helen also was stationed at US Air Force bases in Austin, TX; San Antonio, TX; Lompoc, CA; Biloxi, MS and Reno, NV. While in Reno she earned a Master’s Degree in Social Psychology in 1959 from the University of Nevada. During one tour in Texas she served as an Air Evacuation Nurse flying the wounded out of Korea. She ended her Air Force career in 1979 after being Chief Nurse at several USAF Hospitals. Her multiple Air Force Commendation Medal citations included words such as Outstanding Knowledge, Initiative, Devotion to Duty, Highest Quality of Healthcare Delivery, Untiring Personal Efforts and Meritorious Service. Helen’s managerial skills were recognized by being presented with the prestigious Silver Knight Award by a joint Lockheed/USAF management organization in California.

Being a devout Christian she was a generous giver in all aspects of her life. Her interests were wide. She was an early supporter of the Jesus Film Project, provided the educational costs for 17 Pastor’s children in 3rd world countries, contributed to many missionary projects and assisted people who had a financial crisis. Helen’s life of personal service continued even after retiring. She volunteered full time year-round for 25 years at Camp Taconic, a church denominational camp in New York, as Head Nurse, Book Store Founder and Manager, plus any task requested by the Camp Director. Helen assisted multiple college students needing a boost by a simple expression of love or helping with finances encouraging them to continue their studies. Her earthly reward was seeing young people become contributors to society, such as a particularly rascally child develop to become a chaplain at a major US College, or another, become an internationally awarded Oncology Nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. Helen’s motto in life has been “Helping Others!”

Helen is preceded in death by brothers Harold and Ralph Meredith. She is survived by her older sister, Katy, as well as many nephews and nieces, grand nephews and nieces, and great grand nephews and nieces.

A memorial service will be held on April 7th at Florida Memorial Gardens at 1:00 PM followed by a ceremony by the Patrick AFB Honor Guard. A community memorial service will be held at Solivita in Poinciana on April 8th at 2:00 PM.