Sidney Thomas Helm

1920 - 2004

Sidney Thomas Helm, 83, passed away Wednesday, June 30, 2004, at a local hospital after a brief illness.

Funeral: 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Moore Funeral Home Chapel, Arlington. Burial: Moore Memorial Gardens. Visitation: The family will receive friends 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Moore Funeral Home.

Sidney was born Sept. 8, 1920, at the old Glen Eden Plantation at Preston Bend, now under Lake Texoma. He was one of six children born to Lela and Dan Helm.

In 1939, at the age of 18, he enlisted in the Army. During World War II, he served in the Second Infantry Division. His division entered Normandy on D-Day plus five and then engaged in many battles across France, Belgium, Germany and Czechoslovakia. He was in Bullingen, Belgium, when it was overrun by German forces at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge. Sid rose to the rank of master sergeant and was awarded the Bronze Star. He was also a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War.

Upon completion of his military duty, he worked for the Southern Pacific and Cotton Belt railroads for 35 years and retired in Waco as district sales manager.

Sid was an active member of Central Presbyterian Church in Waco for 30 years and, after moving to Arlington in 1996, was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church. Sid was actively involved in the Waco Founder Lions Club for 29 years and joined the Pantego Lions Club in 1996. He was recently presented with a lifetime membership for his work with the club. While in Waco, Sid spent two years as a volunteer worker restoring the Bill Daniel Village at Baylor University. Sid was particularly proud to be a Scottish Rite 33rd degree, York Rite and Blue Lodge Mason since 1947, was membership chairman for the Waco Scottish Rite from 1985 to 1996, helped at the Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas and was a member of the board of directors of the Scottish Rite Dorm at UT-Austin.

Sid loved hearing jokes and loved telling jokes. He loved making his friends laugh, and he never met a stranger. Sid volunteered for many jobs in the organizations to which he belonged, and he was always willing to give help to anyone who needed it. He was a person you could always count on to honor his obligations. He leaves a legacy of commitment to God, family and country.

God called Sid home because He needed a worker. He got a good one.

Survivors: His wife of 58 years, Willie Maude; daughter and son-in-law, Diane and Mike Smith; grandson, Dylan Smith, all of Arlington; sisters, Inez Austin of Dallas and Ollie Mayfield of Arlington; brother and sister-in-law, Benton and Gladys Helm of Denison; numerous nephews and nieces; friends from Pantego Lions Club and Waco Founder Lions Club; and his many friends from Westminster and Central Presbyterian churches, Rusty Rails and the Masonic Retirement Home Coffee Klatch.