Helen Virginia Ayers, 96, passed away peacefully Saturday, August 6, 2016 at her daughter’s home in St Pete Beach, Florida.

Born July 8, 1920 in Floyd County, Virginia, Helen was the daughter of the late Elias E. Duncan and Dorothy (Sumner) Duncan.

Helen was proceeded in death by her husband E. Wilson Ayers in 1997, sister, Esther (Duncan) Whited Beisner, daughter, Shirley Dutton Hensley and grandson, Vernon Brian Paisley.

Helen is survived by her children: Judith E. Lusk, Bette Sue Schack (David), Shirley J. Wiest (Forest), Joseph E. Ayers, Wanda K. Walker, Vicki L. Bare, and Robert A. Ayers; nineteen grandchildren and twenty-three great-grandchildren.

Helen lived most of her life in Rising Sun, Maryland and graduated from Rising Sun High School. She married Wilson in 1940 and shared a life of a dairy farmer for over fifty years. She was a woman ahead of her time with extraordinary abilities and talents that she applied in an exceptional manner while managing the family dairy farm business! Upon the sale of the farm on Montgomery Road she and Wilson constructed their dream home – a brick rancher with a screened porch overlooking the farm and enjoyed many happy years living there. Helen moved again to the Fairview Apartments in Rising Sun for 13 years before relocating to St Pete Beach Florida in 2013 with her daughter, Wanda.

Helen and Wilson were faithful members of Conowingo Baptist Church, Lancaster County Farmers Club, Cecil County Farm Bureau and Cecil County Homemakers. She loved antiques and refinishing furniture and visited auctions and yard sales regularly! Helen was an amazing homemaker and cook! Her kitchen was always open to family and friends where delicious meals were prepared from the gardens she planted. One of the most loved recipes is for her amazing soft rolls – few can duplicate! Her love of reading led her to novels by Nicholas Sparks and Jan Karon. In later years, she loved ANY road trip and she and Wilson visited their daughter Bette Sue several times in California and also many trips to Florida. She enjoyed family cruises to the Caribbean (2009) and Alaska (2014). Helen loved every day she had in St. Pete Beach. She was a very compassionate woman and provided a loving home for many foster children and later cared for her own mother, Dorothy, and several other elderly women. Since 2013 she has enjoyed sitting in her rocking chair on the balcony and watching the activity on the waterway of Blind Pass and the beautiful sunsets every night. Helen was an amazing mother, grandmother, wife, and friend. Helen’s most cherished activities were those spent with her family, friends and beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren! She will long be remembered for her love, her compassionate spirit, the dignified woman she embodied.

A visitation will be held from 6pm to 8pm on Friday, August 12, 2016 at R.T Foard Funeral Home, P.A., 111 S. Queen Street, Rising Sun, MD 21911. A celebration of Helen’s life will be held at 11am on Saturday, August 13, 2016 at Conowingo Baptist Church, 151 Rock Springs Road, Conowingo, MD 21918, where friends and family may visit beginning at 10am.