Helen L. Sharpe died peacefully Nov. 27, 2013, at 12:42 a.m. after several months of declining health. Helen was born to Luther and Enid Ricketts Sept. 18, 1926, in Pike County, Indiana. Helen was a graduate of Blackhawk High School, Class of 1944. She married the love of her life, John F. Sharpe, on Dec. 23, 1945, and they shared a marriage that lasted 60 years.
Helen worked for Republic Aviation in Evansville during the last year of WWII. She worked as a waitress at the Toasty Shop after she and John were married, and for many years at Quaker Maid until arthritis disabled her. Recently she volunteered in the kitchens of Seelyville United Methodist Church and 14th & Chestnut Community Center.
Helen was a very good cook, an exceptional pie and roll maker, a candy maker extraordinaire, and a talented quilter. She was a great Mom, Aunt, Grandmother, Great-grandmother, and a friend to most everyone she met (two-legged or four). She was also a deeply religious person participating in an Emmaus walk and assisting with several others.
Helen was preceeded in death by her parents, her husband, two infant sisters, her mother-in-law, her brother Beryl and sister-in-law Norma Ricketts, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Ralph and Freda Northrop, sister-in-law Helen Ricketts, and her daughter Kathy Curley.
She is survived by her brother Morris Ricketts, her son and daughter-in-law Bryan and Judy Sharpe, son-in-law Bill Curley, granddaughter and husband Maria and Scott Koos, grandson John Curley, granddaughter Meg Curley, step grandson Keith Snyder, great-grandchildren Mallory, Emma, and Logan Koos, and by step-great-grandchildren Brad and Ryan Snyder and their families, and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Helen’s family wishes to thank Hospice of the Wabash Valley and Hands That Serve for the wonderful care and kindness they provided these past few months.
Funeral services will be held on Sat. Nov. 30 at noon at DeBaun Funeral Home – Wabash Avenue Chapel, 2425 Wabash Ave., Terre Haute, with pastors Jack Diel and Larry Ricketts officiating. Burial will follow at Highland Lawn Cemetery. Visitation has been scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. Fri., Nov. 29 and an hour prior to services. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Seelyville United Methodist Church, 14th & Chestnut Community Center, or to Hospice of the Wabash Valley.