Helen A. Flory, 85, of Salina, died Wednesday, March 12, 2008. She was born, Helen A Ferrin, June 14, 1922 in (sic) Wilmore, Kan. She was a homemaker and worked as an inspector for Motorola Semiconductors for over 20 years.

She is survived by her husband of 65 years, C. Wayne Flory, of Salina; four sons: Mike Flory and wife Phyllis of Salina, Don Flory of Albuquerque, N.M., Curt Flory and wife Diana of San Diego, Calif., and Joe Flory of Pueblo West, Colo.; one daughter, Ann Johnson, and her special friend, Bob Nyberg, of Queen Creek, Ariz.

Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be planned at a later date.

Memorial gifts may be given to The Kaye Pogue Hospice Center or the Salina County Animal Shelter.

Ryan Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Helen A. Ferrin attended Ridge Summit School and graduated from Wilmore High School.

Helen Aurelia Ferrin was born, not at Wilmore, but at her parent's farm about five miles northeast of Wilmore, in the house built by her grandparents, Loren and Alcana (Wagner) Ferrin. Her ashes will be interred in the cemetery at Sawyer, Kansas, at a later date. Sawyer was the home town of Charles Wayne Flory's family.

Her mother, Nellie (Barnett) Ferrin, always called her "Helen Aurie" but her given name was Helen Aurelia Ferrin, in honor of her maternal grandmother Anna Aurelia (Allender) Barnett.

Aunt Helen had a beautiful singing voice and played the piano by ear. As I recall, she gave up the offer of a voice scholarship to college when she married Uncle Wayne. She worked at Boeing Aircraft in Wichita, Kansas, during World War II.

When a friend and I visited her and Uncle Wayne in Lake Montezuma in early 1992, we stayed in their guest room which doubled as Aunt Helen's library. Her bookshelves lined the bottom of the walls under the windows, about 30 linear feet of six or seven shelves. She was a constant reader. When she was a teenager she bought a lifetime subscription to The Reader's Digest for a sum I recall as $25.00. She said she was told at the time that it was silly to pay so much for a magazine so far in advance, but that she'd always considered it a great investment.

Uncle Wayne took us down near the river near their house and called "Duck, duck" and a duck came churning across the water to eat the bread crumbs he knew he'd be getting. Their kitchen had a large picture window with the kitchen table in front of it. On the table sat two pairs of binoculars and a Field Guide to Birds and outside the window were several bird feeders. Uncle Wayne and Aunt Helen also had a bench out among the bird feeders in the yard shaded by tall trees. Either of them could instantly name the birds we saw at a glance.

It was on that trip that I met Aunt Helen's beloved old cat, Brownie. She grieved when he died a few years later and I don't think she ever had another pet again. In her love for a special old cat, she was like her paternal grandmother, Alcana Ferrin.

There were wild asters growing in their yard between the house and the river. Rebecca asked Aunt Helen if she could dig one up to take it home to plant. Aunt Helen laughed, and said, "Of course, it's just a pretty weed!" That wild aster grew in our yard for at least the next five years, got to be like a bush in size and flowered profusely. We always called it "Aunt Helen's Weed".

My cousin, Ann (Flory) Johnson, called me last night after I'd left a message on her voicemail telling her that I was sorry to hear of Aunt Helen's passing. We must have talked for at least two hours. Aunt Helen was lucid until the end, still concerned about other people and of taking care of other people but very, very tired. She got to see all of her children just before she died, and I'm told she had a peaceful end to this mortal life.

To Uncle Wayne and my cousins Mike, Don, Curt, Joe and Ann: you have my sincere condolences at Aunt Helen's passing. She was a wonderful woman! I'm going to miss her.

Sincerely,

Jerry Ferrin, 18 March 2008.

Ernest and Nellie (Barnett) Ferrin with their children:
Wendel Gene Ferrin, Helen Aurelia Ferrin, Delmer Lee Ferrin. 1945.

Delmer Lee, Helen Aurie and Wendel Gene Ferrin
in their Wilmore High School band uniforms.
Photo taken in 1940 at the Ferrin farm, West Powell Township, Comanche County, Kansas,
by Nellie May Ferrin.

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Relatives of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory:

Ernest Leroy Ferrin - father of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Nellie May (Barnett) Ferrin - mother of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Delmer Lee "Buck" Ferrin - brother of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Wendel Gene Ferrin - brother of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Loren & Alcana (Wagner) Ferrin - paternal grandparents of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Alcana Ferrin - paternal grandmother of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Maude Mae (Ferrin) Watkins - paternal aunt of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Nellie Mabel (Ferrin) Ely - paternal aunt of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Walter William Ferrin - paternal uncle of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Esther Irene (Ferrin) Bigbee - paternal aunt of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Anna Aurelia (Allender) Barnett - maternal grandmother of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Mary A. (Horner) Wagner - paternal great grandmother of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

David W. and Margaret J. Allender - maternal great grandparents of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Arthur & Alice (Eyerly) Ferrin - paternal grant aunt and grand uncle of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Reuben & Hannah Philura (Murch) Ferrin - paternal great grandparents of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Alice Lorene (Norton) Ferrin - sister-in-law of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Jerry D. Ferrin - nephew of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Loren David Ferrin - nephew of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

Robert Edward Thompson (known as "Robbie Ferrin") - nephew of Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory.

A Brief History of Newton, New Hampshire (A New Chronology of the Life & Times of Jonathan Farren) - Helen A. (Ferrin) Flory was an 8th generation descendant of Capt. Jonathan Farren of Amesbury, MA, & Newton, NH, as follows: Helen A. Ferrin 8, Ernest Leroy Ferrin 7, Loren Ferrin 6, Reuben Ferrin 5, Zebulon Ferrin 4, Zebulon Ferrin 3, Zebulon Farren 2, Jonathan Farren 1.

Thanks to Conrad Easterday of the Pratt Tribune for permission to reprint the above 14 March 2008 obituary on this web site! The same obituary was published in the Salina Journal on March 14, 2008.

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