Page 2 - Aunt Helen Memorial Service

The Reverend Nichole L. Edness, Officiating
Prayer.……………………... Reverend Nichole L. Edness
Scripture Readings:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8……….... Marley V. Prince
Psalm 100 ……………….Vivienne I. Prince
Acknowledgments and Resolutions….......Lisa M. Prince
Obituary Reading.........................Sharon Brown Harriott
Remarks/ Reflections (Limit 2 minutes please)
Family Tribute.............................................Lisa M. Prince
Selection………………… “His Eye is On The Sparrow”
Eulogy…………………. Reverend Nelson B. Rivers, III
Candle Lighting Ceremony
Janis E. Marley and E. Bruce Edwards
Benediction……………......Reverend Nichole L. Edness
n April 26, 1920 Helen Blondell Brown was born to Reverend Henry D.
Brown and Alice Logan Brown in Colleton County, South Carolina. She was
the second child born to this union, the first Emma Jane, died in
infancy. Helen’s father was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal
Church. Her mother was a homemaker. Her siblings who all preceded her
in death were: Euralee, Merelyn, Douglas, Beatrice, Moses and Hattie
Mae. Early in Helen’s life the family moved to Walterboro, SC, a small town
about 40 miles from Charleston. Having a minister as a father meant that
church life was an important part of Helen’s upbringing. Helen graduated
from Colleton County Training School, later Walterboro High School, where
she played basketball, a sport she would also play in college, despite her
small stature.
fter graduating from high school Helen attended Allen University in
Columbia, SC. It was there that she met Edmund R. Edwards of
Washington, North Carolina. Helen loved to tell the story of how on her
very first day on campus she met one of the star football players. He pulled
the chair out for her in the dining room during the dinner meal and she
took one look at him and said to herself “that’s my future husband”. She
was right! Helen graduated from Allen in 1942 with a BA in Early
Childhood Education.
elen and Edmund eloped and were joined in holy matrimony on July
8, 1942 in New York City, where they would make their home and life
together for the next sixty-three years. It was a strong and joyful
union. The next year in 1943 Edmund was drafted and went to Europe to
fight in World War II. Helen did her part for the war effort by working at
the Brooklyn Navy Yard where she made small fittings for ships and
airplanes. When her husband returned from the war they were soon
blessed with two children, Janis Yvonne and Edmund Bruce.
he family moved from Brooklyn to Jamaica, Queens in the early 1950’s
and purchased a house on Long Street. She relished her role as a wife and
mother and homemaker. She was enthusiastic about supporting every
school event and extracurricular activity that her children were involved
in. Every Sunday dinner was a formal affair. We ate in the dining room and
enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by Mom. The table was set with a
tablecloth, linen napkins, china, crystal and sterling silver flatware. Of
course, we were all dressed in our Sunday best. Helen soon joined Allen