Mary Helm Myers

Mary (Burge) Helm Myers, 90, of Pittsboro, NC passed away on September 9, 2023. Mary was born July 31, 1933 in Louisville, KY to parents Mary Norris Burge Helm and Thomas Oliver Helm. She resided in Louisville until moving with her husband to Galloway Ridge Retirement Community in Pittsboro in 2007.

Mary was one of six children and had an idyllic childhood exploring the outdoors on her ponies and horses from Harrods Creek to Glenview to Indian Hills. Mary attended Ballard Primary School and graduated from Kentucky Home School in Louisville.  She attended Hollins College before graduating from the University of Kentucky. 

At UK, she met her husband, Frank Raymond Myers (Ray). They were married for 65 years. She spent many hours cooking and preserving the abundant vegetables produced by Ray in his garden. Together, they traveled widely upon Ray’s retirement.

Mary lovingly raised three children and was active in the lives of many nieces and nephews. She imparted her love for outdoor activities, including horseback riding, canoeing, and hiking, to her children and grandchildren.

Mary spent a formative summer in 1953 volunteering as a Courier at the Frontier Nursing Service in Hyden, KY, where she traveled by horseback and jeep to support midwives attending to mothers and families. This was the first of many volunteer commitments, including serving for many years in disaster relief services for the American Red Cross. Mary was a founding member of two churches, Calvin Presbyterian Church in Louisville and Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill. 

Mary held several childcare positions, including running the Myers Pony Camp for preschoolers from her home for 13 years and serving as the director of the preschool at Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church in Louisville for 10 years. 

Mary loved telling stories and served as the oral historian of the family. She was a gifted seamstress.  She quilted and sewed clothes and costumes for her children, nieces, nephews and grandchildren. While at Galloway Ridge, she made quilts for hospitalized children and generously offered her sewing talents to alter clothes of other residents.

Mary is survived by her children, Mary Kemp Myers Miller (Norvell), Christy Myers Gudaitis (Jim) and Frank Helm Myers (Kelly Pulsifer); sisters Nancy Thomas and Jane Baker and brother Harold Helm (Anne); nine grandchildren; six (almost seven) great grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She was predeceased by her husband Ray, her brother Thomas Carson Helm, and her sister Louise Bessire.   

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, October 14th at 4:30 pm in the Chapin auditorium at Galloway Ridge, Pittsboro, NC.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church, 314 Great Ridge Parkway, Chapel Hill, NC 27516; Frontier Nursing University, frontier.edu/give-to-fnu/ or 2050 Lexington Road, Versailles, KY 40383; American Red Cross to support Disaster Relief at redcross.org/donate, or P.O. Box 29637, Raleigh, NC 29637; or a charity of your choice.  Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Myers family.

A gathering of family and friends will be held on November 5, 2023 at 1:15 PM at the Paddock Room at Miralea, Masonic Home & Retirement Community in Louisville, KY