Helen Roper Edwards

Our mother died on Friday, February 22, 2019 at the age of 96 as a result of the
complications from a recent fall. She made her home at the Warwick Forest
Retirement Community in Newport News for the past nine years since moving from
Smithfield, VA.
Helen loved people and in turn was loved by all who called her a friend. She
enjoyed entertaining, playing bridge, playing golf and traveling. She was active in
the Trinity United Methodist Church and never forgot her friends who were ill or
living in the nearby nursing centers. She was the “Cookie Lady” at Warwick Forest
for years.
Helen was born in Norfolk to Helen Lee and Daniel Webster Raper. She received
her college education in Washington, DC before she met and married an Army
airman, James Travers Edwards of Smithfield, VA. They raised a daughter and
three sons all of whom made her very proud. She was affectionately known to
family and friends as “Mamie”.
She was predeceased by her husband, Travers in 1982, and leaves behind her
children James Travers Jr. (Carter), Brian Lee (Connie), Stephen Totty (Sharon)
and Helen Totty Shelly (Thaddeus) to cherish her memory. In addition, she has 10
grandchildren, James Travers III, Totty Anna, Virginia Eileen, Andrea Lee, Amy
Elizabeth, Mary Paige, Charles Edwards, James Thaddeus, Robert Willis and
Beverly Lee. She also has 10 great-grandchildren. Our special thanks to her
wonderful companions from Visiting Angels who helped with her daily care. We
also would like to thank the professional staff of the Warwick Forest Evergreen
Unit who helped to make her stay safe and comfortable.
Our mother will be interred at the Ivy Hill cemetery beside her husband in a
memorial family graveside service at a future time. In lieu of flowers, the family
requests that donations be made in her memory to the Trinity United Methodist
Church in Smithfield, VA.