Helen M. Liu

1945 - 2025

Helen M. Liu was born in Fort Benning, GA to Helen and Ivan Mann, III on April 3, 1945. She led a life of introspective wonder that invited others to be curious with her and inspired others to be more and better.

The oldest of four, she graduated from Agnes Scott College with a B.S. in Chemistry and then earned her M.S. in Chemistry from Emory University. While she worked at the Centers for Disease Control, she met Ker Fah Liu. The two married in Atlanta in 1969 and moved to Charleston, WV. In Charleston, she earned her Master’s degree in Special Education (Gifted and Talented). She taught science and math throughout Kanawha County, including Herbert Hoover High School and Capitol High School. She coached different academic clubs throughout her career as well, including chess club and quiz bowl. 

She was a devoted daughter who loved, honored and favored her mother and father, proudly recalling and retelling stories about her childhood until the very end. She was a big sister who served as a lifelong role model for her beloved siblings. She was a courageous and intelligent science student whose work ethic rose to meet each of the many obstacles she encountered.

Helen was a loving and loyal wife, admired by her husband of nearly six decades for her intellect, wit, resourcefulness, and unwavering determination. She was an exemplary and fiercely protective mother who intuitively understood, nourished, and encouraged each of her three children’s individual personalities, instilling in them her innate sense of decency, respect for others, and voracious love of learning and exploration. She taught her children that anything they could imagine, they could do. She was an immensely proud grandmother whose legacy of kindness lives on in the heart and mind of her namesake granddaughter.

She was a respected teacher who inspired countless students to dream bigger and believe that chemistry and math were important and interesting. She enjoyed gardening and went on numerous camping trips across the country. She was a beloved aunt, cousin, in-law, friend, and Presbyterian congregant.   She was a voracious reader, especially enjoying science fiction and fantasy. She was an expert knitter, seamstress and storyteller. She was stubborn and sometimes cantankerous in a Southern-genteel sort of way. She recited poetry from her youth with remarkable aplomb and always carried with her a trove of silly tunes to sing, word puzzles to solve, and soothing words for anyone in need. 

Helen is an inspiration, fondly remembered and deeply missed by many. She is preceded in death by her parents Helen and Ivan Mann. She is survived by her husband Ker Fah Liu, her brother Ivan (Judy), her brother John (Nancy), her sister Pat (Ed), her son Kim, her daughter Hope (CJ), her daughter May, and her granddaughter, Helen.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, May 9 from 5-8pm at Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee, WI.