Helen Elizabeth Clark

Helen Clark, 66, of Chapel Hill, died in hospice on June 27 after a series of health issues.

She was born March 1, 1959, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Rufus “Buddy” Clark and Barbara Norwood Clark.

The family moved to Chapel Hill, where Helen attended school and graduated in 1977 from Chapel Hill Senior High School. She worked at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina for seven years before moving to Boone, where she attended Appalachian State University. After college, she worked with several medical practices in Boone until she returned to Chapel Hill to help care for her father and mother.

Helen began working with private medical practices negotiating contracts with insurance companies. She had her own consulting business for several years until she decided to become a real estate agent. She worked in real estate until health issues forced her to retire.

Helen was very active at Orange United Methodist Church where outreach, hospitality and Bible study were her passion. Helen loved to cook and would help with fundraisers by making jams and canned goods that earned a following. For large groups meeting at the church, she would work for days to prepare a home-cooked meal, especially for her beloved Reality Ministry.

She managed meal care calendars that allowed the church to ensure that the needs of others were being met. Quite frequently, Helen shared her prize pound cakes with individuals near and far, for any reason or no reason, just another way to show her love and appreciation.

Her heart and hospitality extended to often forgotten people in the community. For many years, she cooked regularly for the women’s shelter and gathered food for distribution to those in need through drop-offs and children’s backpacks. She also carried large trays of desserts, often banana pudding, to Bible study inside Orange Correctional Center. Each time she was allowed, Helen would share a word of encouragement from the Bible or a lesson she thought would be helpful.

Helen worked with many small businesses in the community to muster resources to meet people’s needs. She was persuasive and seldom took “no” for an answer. Alternatively, if the town’s shelter or a service organization was in need of support, she advocated and recruited for their support and their needs. She also refused to let her own health issues keep her from sharing her faith, continuing to minister in prison as one of her last actions.

A woman of faith, Helen stayed involved in Bible study at her church and online and she attended Bible Study Fellowship for many years.

She is survived by her sister, Janet Walker and husband, Barry, of Roxboro; nephews Will Walker of Fuquay-Varina and Jeffrey Walker and wife, Abby, of Durham; great nephew Brooks Walker of Durham; several aunts and cousins. She was also an aunt to three nieces, Meredith, Stephanie, and Casey, who she cared for very much.

A memorial service will be held at 1 pm on Saturday, July 12, at Orange United Methodist Church, 1220 Martin Luther King Blvd in Chapel Hill.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the prison ministry in which Helen was involved: Forgiven Ministry (https://forgivenministry.org/donate/ or PO Box 117, Taylorsville NC  28681.)

Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Clark Family.