Helen B. Thompson

Helen B. Thompson passed away on November 14, 2019, a month shy of her 97th birthday. Born and raised in Florence, South Carolina, the middle child of two sisters, her father Ferdinand, was a Railroad Station Master and her mother Addie, was a Florist. Helen attended classes at the University of South Carolina.

Helen was fortunate enough to find big love twice in her lifetime. After decades of marriage to Lt. Colonel James Gable took her to New York, Virginia, Washington DC, and Panama, they settled down in Winter Park, Florida where she was suddenly widowed. A couple years later, Helen’s friend...and literally the man next door, Art Thompson, stole her heart for the next 38 years, until he passed away in 2006.

Helen’s overall life arc may have looked somewhat small from the outside, but her capacity for unconditional love, patience, and loyalty was immeasurable. Her ripple effect may not have been broad, but it ran deep. Helen worried a lot…too much. About everyone and everything. People with big hearts seem to do that. So, it was everything when Helen laughed. Luckily, she was surrounded by laughter, practical jokers, and humor all of her life. Despite being a worrier, her gorgeous face stayed unlined and taut, even at almost 97 years of age. Guessing the abundance of laughter was part of that magic.

Helen raised two sons and then late in life, her daughter Jill, was a “surprise.” Helen and Jill experienced a lifetime of closeness and connection with an intense unbreakable bond. Jill was by her side the last 15 years of her life. Her sons chose a different path away from the family.

Helen faithfully read and clipped articles from the Orlando Sentinel for 56 years, she loved sending birthday cards, fried shrimp in a basket, and small dogs that licked her face. She spent many years camping, golfing, traveling, clothes shopping at the mall, going the beach and collecting thousands of pounds of shells, making clothes on her Singer sewing machine, and sleeping in a little in the morning. Her love of boating and fishing eventually evolved into “garage sailing”.

She believed in thank you notes, following rules, Oil of Olay, and was rarely seen without lipstick. Mom pounded out heartfelt letters and complicated recipes on her Royal typewriter. She Marched for Dimes, collected for UNICEF, filled up hundreds of S&H Green Stamps books, and waited anxiously for hot chocolate and camellia season every year. She was a prolific pound cake baker, an ice cream aficionado, and a chocolate macadamia nut fiend. She loved talking on the phone and she was an exceptional listener…except when the noon or national news was on. She was frugal, yet generous. She did not like baby corn or snakes, don’t even get her started on baby corn snakes.

Helen gifted the earth with an amazing cadre of grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She didn’t get to see or hear from them much in her later years, but they all had a place in that big heart of hers just the same. Her inner circle at the end, was a very small tribe of dedicated friends, doctors, hairdressers, and her devoted daughter who became her eyes and ears while hers were failing.

In lieu of flowers, please spend time with a senior who may be lonely, need help or have outlived or are far from their family. And maybe even make it a habit. We need more angels on earth, as we just lost a beautiful one to heaven. Please sign guestbook on www.orlandosentinel.com/obituaries