She was preceded in death by her parents, Sarah and Lewis Harrell; baby brother Lewis L. Harrell, Jr. in 1924; husband of 56 years, Duane Alan Deem in 2009; sister Irma Johnson in 2011; niece Grace Johnson in 2019; and her sons: baby Michael R. Deem in 1955 and her firstborn, Robert David Deem in 2020.
Helen is survived by her oldest sister Fleeta Mae Lindley, daughter-in-law Victoria Deem, sons: Edward Alan (Teresa) Deem and William Lewis (Yong) Deem, and daughter Laura Renee (Daniel) Presson, six grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, nieces, a nephew, and many cousins. She also has one great great grand-baby on the way.
Helen described herself as shy when she was a young person. She was born in City Point (now part of Cocoa, Florida) to strict yet loving parents. When they moved she helped her Dad build their house on Holmes Street, which is still there, by handing him tools and materials and earned a bicycle for her efforts. She reminisced of dances under the Cocoa water tower during her teen years. She followed her sister, Irma, into employment with Southern Bell as an operator when space exploration began and retired as a clerk in payroll from the same company after more than 30 years of service when it was known as AT&T.
Helen met Duane, who was stationed at Patrick Air Force base, through a double date with her friends Maybelle and Ralph Greeson from church. They were married at the First Baptist Church of Cocoa on Sunday afternoon, March 22,1953. After Duane's honorable discharge from the Air Force, Helen supported him going to college in his home state of Illinois and moved out of state, for her first and only time, with their firstborn. She gave birth to their other three boys while living in Illinois. When they decided they had enough of the cold weather they all moved back to Rockledge, Florida.
While her husband taught school and she worked at the phone company they grew their family. There were school activities, sports, and a dog (she really adored the shih tzu breed), but something was still missing so they adopted a baby girl. Helen augmented the family income for a time decorating cakes. Later she made a hobby of painting landscapes. She also used to crochet. When the grandchildren came along Christmases exploded with gifts and were made even more special. Vacations were spent visiting family in Illinois and her kinfolk in Georgia and exploring their shared passion of researching their genealogy.
When their children had flown the nest they became even more attentive at First Baptist Church of Cocoa, and though Helen had mostly an introverted personality, she was always behind the scenes supporting Duane in his more extroverted pursuits. When Duane and Helen retired they decided to travel, bought a van, and headed west for a month visiting many states in the country. At this time, Helen began collecting souvenir spoons, decorative plates, Precious Moments statuettes, angels and other figurines. For their 50th Anniversary they drove to Canada, site-seeing along the way, and took a cruise to Alaska.
In the 12 years Helen was widowed she was a calming and steadfast influence in her children’s lives. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren were always welcome in her home. She occupied those years talking to and spending time with friends and family; going to family reunions, the Mosquito Beaters gatherings, and the Telephone Pioneers luncheons; attending church for as long as her body would allow; and working the daily puzzles in the newspaper as well as in sudoku books. She enjoyed watching old westerns, classic tv, and all things Hallmark…not to mention the QVC Shopping Channel. She preferred traditional country music, especially the Statler Brothers and Dolly Parton. When going out to eat, her first choice was Cracker Barrel; however, for her birthday she wanted a Bennigan’s Monte Cristo and strawberry lemonade.
Helen will be greatly missed by those who took the time to know her.
Donations can be made in Helen's memory to St. Francis Reflections Lifestage Care at https://reflectionslsc.org/donate
