Helen C. Pulliam

NEWTON - Helen C. Pulliam, 98, of Newton, died Monday, July 14, 2008, at Catawba Valley Medical Center. Born July 13, 1910, in Madison County, Ga., she was the daughter of the late James Thomas Comer Sr. and Margaret Alexander Comer. She graduated from UNC-Greensboro, then called North Carolina Women's College, in 1932, where she was president of her senior class. As well as being a beloved wife and mother, she was a school teacher. She taught eighth grade at Balls Creek Elementary School for several years before teaching English at Newton-Conover High School from 1960 until 1974. In addition, she was an active member of First Presbyterian Church in Newton, where she was a longtime Sunday school teacher and a former elder. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Edward Mosby Pulliam; three sisters, Allie Gaither, Margaret Cavin and Olivia Brockmann; and two brothers, George Comer and James T. Comer Jr. Survivors include a daughter, Edith Margaret "Margie" Pulliam of the home, and a son and daughter-in-law, Edward Hyde "Ted" Pulliam, and wife, Molly, of Alexandria, Va. A Memorial Service will be held at 3 p.m. today, Wednesday, July 16, 2008, at First Presbyterian Church in Newton. The Revs. Mark A. Watson, Cynthia Williams and Richard Yaussy will officiate. A private graveside service will be held in Eastview Cemetery in Newton. The family will receive friends in the church parlor following the service. Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 701 N. Main Ave., Newton, N.C. 28658 or Doctors Without Borders, 333 Seventh Ave., Second Floor, New York, N.Y., 10001-5004. Condolences may be sent to the Pulliam family at www.drumfuneralhome.com. The Pulliam family has entrusted funeral arrangements to Willis-Reynolds Funeral Home and Crematory in Newton.