Helma Heilenday Lewis

HELMA H. LEWIS

Teacher

Helma Heilenday Lewis, 89, died at her home Tuesday, December 2, 2008 after a fifteen-year contest with melanoma.

Born in Jersey City, N.J., she moved to Lake Wales in 1956 when she joined the faculty of Webber College, where she taught in the business department for 25 years.
In 1959 she married Thomas D. Lewis, an early resident of Lake
Wales. After his death in 1971, she devoted much of her free time to civic organizations such as the
Women's Club, AAUW, and the Audubon Society. She also was a thousandhour volunteer at Bok
Tower. A life-long lover of travel, after her retirement she participated in dozens of Elderhostel programs, both in the
United States and abroad. By the time of her final foreign trip, when she sailed to England aboard the QE2 a few months before turning 80, she had traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, and Central America, and had even made three trips to Africa.

She is survived by her son and grandson, Don and David Hoyt, both of Atlanta; a sister, Claire Christensen, of St. Louis; and a brother, Frank W. Heilenday of Olympia, WA.

A memorial service will be held in January at the Marion Nelson Funeral Home in Lake Wales.