Helen Shelley King died peacefully on Jan. 7, 2015, at The Hearth in Franklin, Tennessee. She was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on Aug. 13, 1925, to Lilly Guy Hopkins and Fred Hopkins, adopted by Melissa (Aunt Melis’) and Jacob Osgood (Uncle Osgood) Shelley, all of whom predeceased her as well as her husband, James E. King.
Helen attended schools in Tuscumbia, Alabama, Bob Jones College and a business school in Sheffield, Alabama. She had a 20-year-career as bookkeeper at First National Bank of Tuscumbia. Active at Tuscumbia First Baptist Church, she taught childrens Sunday school and sang in the choir.
After Helen married, she and Jim King lived in Birmingham, Alabama for a few years before remodeling the “Old Home Place,” the house where Jim was born and raised in Guntersville, Alabama. There Helen King spent many happy years fulfilling her dream of being a loving wife, gardening, canning, freezing, and cooking. She was known for her homemade bread. She so enjoyed sharing loaves with friends and neighbors.
The Kings were members of Guntersville United Methodist Church. Helen was active in the United Methodist Women and the Garden Club. Helen enjoyed accompanying her husband on out-of-state business trips and Auburn football games.
After the death of her husband, Helen moved to Franklin, Tennessee to be near her niece, Shelley Jamieson. She is survived by one sister, Evelyn Shelley Lamb, of San Luis Obisbo, California; a brother-in-law, Harold Ballew of Cullman, Alabama; and a number of nieces and nephews.
The funeral service will be held 11 a.m. today at Carr Funeral Home in Guntersville, Alabama. Services will be conducted by David Jamieson, a great-nephew, followed by burial at Marshall Memorial Gardens. Visitation is one hour prior to the service.
Austin Funeral and Cremation Services, Brentwood, Tennessee, and Carr Funeral Home, Guntersville, Alabama are assisting the families
