1928
Helen
2022
Helen Wilson Hester
January 5, 1928 — February 19, 2022
Helen Wilson Hester was born in Rustburg, Virginia on January 5, 1928. As was not unusual at the time, she was born at home in a house that had no running water, no central heat, no electricity, and no telephone. Before the age of two she and her family moved to Lynchburg, Virginia where she lived for most of her life until she passed away there on February 19, 2022.
Her parents were Morris Hamlet Hester, a lawyer in Rustburg and then later in Lynchburg and Eunice Wilson Hester, a schoolteacher. Her grandfather, Albert Sydney Hester, was also a noted and respected lawyer in Lynchburg.
She began her education at Garland Rhodes Elementary School and E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg. She then attended Randolph-Macon Women’s College, also in Lynchburg, where she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and a reporter for The Sun. During her summers, she worked in a Settlement House in New York City. She graduated from Randolph-Macon with a degree in Latin with a minor in Biology. From there she began to work for Merck & Company in Rahway, New Jersey as a Lab Technician, eventually working her way up to her ultimate position as Librarian.
Upon her retirement, she returned to Lynchburg where she cared for her parents. In time, she became a resident of the Westminster Canterbury Retirement Community where she continued to live up until the time of her passing. She was a devoted parishioner of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg.
She was predeceased by her parents and her brother Albert Sydney Hester of Ormond Beach, Florida, who was named after their grandfather. She is survived by her niece Sue Pendleton of Wake Forest, NC, her nephew Richard Hester of New York sister-in-law Angela Hester of Ormond Beach, NY as well as by her first cousins, Carolyn Shackleford, Gordon Bailey, Sue Mitchell, Fred Bailey and Martin Bailey and their extended families.
Helen was unfailingly kind and warm to everyone she met, and her infectious laugh will long be remembered by all who knew her.
Burial will be in the family plot at Spring Hill Cemetery, Lynchburg, Virginia.
Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg, is assisting the family.
Her parents were Morris Hamlet Hester, a lawyer in Rustburg and then later in Lynchburg and Eunice Wilson Hester, a schoolteacher. Her grandfather, Albert Sydney Hester, was also a noted and respected lawyer in Lynchburg.
She began her education at Garland Rhodes Elementary School and E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg. She then attended Randolph-Macon Women’s College, also in Lynchburg, where she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and a reporter for The Sun. During her summers, she worked in a Settlement House in New York City. She graduated from Randolph-Macon with a degree in Latin with a minor in Biology. From there she began to work for Merck & Company in Rahway, New Jersey as a Lab Technician, eventually working her way up to her ultimate position as Librarian.
Upon her retirement, she returned to Lynchburg where she cared for her parents. In time, she became a resident of the Westminster Canterbury Retirement Community where she continued to live up until the time of her passing. She was a devoted parishioner of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg.
She was predeceased by her parents and her brother Albert Sydney Hester of Ormond Beach, Florida, who was named after their grandfather. She is survived by her niece Sue Pendleton of Wake Forest, NC, her nephew Richard Hester of New York sister-in-law Angela Hester of Ormond Beach, NY as well as by her first cousins, Carolyn Shackleford, Gordon Bailey, Sue Mitchell, Fred Bailey and Martin Bailey and their extended families.
Helen was unfailingly kind and warm to everyone she met, and her infectious laugh will long be remembered by all who knew her.
Burial will be in the family plot at Spring Hill Cemetery, Lynchburg, Virginia.
Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg, is assisting the family.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Helen Wilson Hester, please visit our flower store.
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