Helen Louise (Jones) Curtis was born February 5, 1941 on a cold winter day in Francisco, Alabama. She was born two months premature to the late Festus (Steve) Jones and Ottie Mae Mahaffey Jones. She was their third child of eight. She was so tiny when she was born and always told the story of how her grandmother, (who she always lovingly called Mimi), fed her with a medicine dropper of milk and kept her in a dresser drawer by the fire for warmth. She was a fighter and she fought to stay in this life as a tiny baby, and she also fought to stay in this world until March 17, 2022. Twenty years to the very day that her beloved Jackie passed away. Helen grew up in Franklin County, Tennessee and Rosalind, Illinois. On July 7, 1958, she married the loved of her life, Jackie A. Curtis. During their married life, they lived in Georgia and Tennessee as Jackie worked on the railroad and they moved a lot with his job. Helen would make a home for Jackie and their boys wherever the railroad took them to live until 1976 when they built their home at Penile Hill in Decherd, Tennessee. That was their permanent home and land that they bought and built together with their boys. Jackie preceded her in death on March 17, 2002. She then left their home and moved to the Williams Cove Community and lived close to her family for the last twenty years of her life. Together, she and Jackie were blessed with four tall, handsome sons and she is survived by three of those sons, Stevie W. (Lynne) Curtis, Bruce E. (Mable) Curtis, and Mark A. Curtis, all of Franklin County, Tennessee; grandchildren, James (Stacie) Curtis, Joseph (Cassie) Curtis, Joshua (Sinclair) Curtis, Jaclynne Curtis (Chris) McPheron, Jesma (Jamie) Curtis Letson, Curtis Jones, David Jones, Pam Jones, and Helen Jones; and by her beloved great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings, Glenda (Jimmy) Jackson, Marie Jones Matthews, Ruby (John) Guiterrez, and Lloyd (Linda) Jones; brothers-in-law, David Curtis and Daniel Thomann; sisters-in-law, Priscilla Curtis, Shirley H. Curtis, and Shirley W. Curtis; and many, many nieces and nephews as well as friends and extended family. Was preceded in death by her husband, Jackie A. Curtis; parents, Festus (Steve) Jones and Ottie Mae Jones; son, Glen Allen Jones; and siblings, Mary Lee Jones Thomann, Floyd Jones, and Sarah Jo Jones Mead. Helen was a woman of faith. One of her favorite verses in her later years was, “Be still and know that I am God.” She said it would calm her in her times of stress and loneliness. She read her Bible every morning and had prayers every night. She and her husband Jackie were members of the Decherd Mission Church and attended for many years. Helen enjoyed her profession as a (LPN) Licensed Practical Nurse. She worked hard to put herself through nursing school, all the while maintaining a home for her husband and boys. She worked many, many years at the Harton Nursing Home in Tullahoma and loved taking care of the elderly. Helen was always a gifted seamstress and could make and design any kind of clothes. She made clothes for her boys and grandchildren and many family members. She made costumes for local country music shows that she and Jackie sang in. Upon her retirement, she began quilting. She hand quilted for over thirty years and most family members have a quilt or baby quilt made by Aunt Helen. Helen loved to sing and sang with her sisters at an early age. When she and Jackie married, they sang together often as he would play the guitar. When the children came along, they also learned to play guitar and sang with her at home. As she and Jackie were older, they would often be asked to sing together in the local country singing talent shows or at square dances. Upon Jackie’s death, Helen joined the Senior Citizens Center and sang with their band for many years every Friday night. She loved to dress up and sing on stage. She enjoyed her family and hosted many Labor Day family reunions over the years. She could make the best candy for her family, especially her peanut brittle at Christmas. Helen made sure everyone in the family and extended family got a Christmas gift of some kind every year. She was an elegant lady with many talents, such as quilting, caring for family members, singing, and making Christmas candy to give friends and family. She was a strong, independent woman and overcame many hardships with faith and a lot of love from her family. She had an eventful and happy life including forty-three years with her husband, Jackie. Today and forever, they are singing “Golden Rings” and strolling across heaven holding hands. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her. Visitation will be from 10:30 am-1:30 pm on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Moore-Cortner Funeral Home. Funeral Services will follow at 1:30 pm in the Moore-Cortner Chapel. Interment will follow at Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Moore-Cortner Funeral Home, 300 First Ave NW, Winchester, TN 37398, (931)-967-2222
