Obituary of Helen Thompson

Helen Thompson passed away on July 8, 2019.  She was born Herad Tookmanian on August 23, 1921 to Armenuhe and Hagop Tookmanian in Lowell Massachusetts.  She was the oldest of four children by the couple including a sister Mary, a brother Thomas, and a brother Auguste.   All her siblings predeceased her.  She also had a half, Francine Shaljian, in Armenia who predeceased her.  Both Helen’s parents were survivors of the Turkish massacres of Armenians in the early 1900s. They made their way individually to the United States and settled in Lowell where Helen grew up. 

Helen graduated from Lowell High School in 1939 and went directly to work in the mills in and around eastern Massachusetts.  She would later join the Federal Government in the IRS and retire from there in the 1980s only to start her own bookkeeping firm which later was taken over by her daughter Carol. 

Helen met her husband William Dalton Thompson of Waycross, Georgia at the close of World War II in Boston and fell in love.  Her husband whom she and everyone else in Massachusetts called “Tom” passed away in 2003.  Helen and William lived in Lowell, Massachusetts for many years before moving to Memphis, Tennessee, Falls Church and Annandale Virginia, and Palm Coast, Florida, where they enjoyed their retirement.  Helen had returned to Virginia from Palm Coast in 2019 at the age of 97 to be closer to her daughters. 

Helen and William had four children–Barbara, Nancy, William Jr., and Carol.  Sadly Helen outlived Nancy and Billy.  Through Barbara, Nancy, and Carol, Helen had seven grandchildren: Elicia Roberts, Jennifer Deeds, Victor Dery, David Blufer, Christopher Dery, Candice King, and Casey Payne, and 14 great grandchildren:  Vanessa Roberts (with partner Cody), Jesse Roberts (wife Megan,) Jessica Weaver (husband Bryan), Bryan Dery, Victor Ryan Dery, Zane Roberts, Taylor Williams, Joshua Dery, Micaela Dery, Madysin Dery, Gabriella Payne, Julian Payne.  At the time of her passing Helen also had five great great grandchildren Sawyer, Weston, Baker, Cooper and Addison. 

She is mourned by Barbara’s husband Barry Blufer, Nancy’s surviving husband Bernard Campbell, Billy’s surviving wife Glenna Thompson, and Helen’s sister-in-law Grace Haynes of Waycross, Georgia, as well as her grandchildren’s spouses Gary Roberts, Gregory Deeds, Michelle Dery, and Kellie Payne and Helen’s nieces and nephews Charles (Gary) Maradian, Coretta Maradian, Shelley Horan, and Steven Maradian and sons Ross and (wife Lindsay), and Adam. 

Helen was a beautiful wife and mother; loving and kind; and missed by All.