Helen Wallace

WELLFLEET — Helen Wallace, 90, of Wellfleet, and formerly of Needham, died March 28, 2009, after a brief illness. She was the wife and best friend of the late John Wallace for 66 years.

She was born in Boston on July 31, 1918, and raised in Belmont, graduating from Belmont High School. She went on to graduate from the Fay School in Boston. Helen worked at the Shawmut Bank where she met her husband, John. They were married in 1942.

Through their years of true love and dedication, John and Helen shared in the joy of raising six children in Needham while summering in Wellfleet, where they later retired. She was a lifelong artist. She is well-known by her many friends for hand-painting more than 200 Christmas cards each year, for over 50 years, of her growing family, costumed in Victorian clothing depicting various New England scenes. She was also a longtime volunteer for the Needham chapter of the Red Cross.

Helen was a gracious, energetic and generous woman who loved her life full of family, friends, art, beauty, travel, cooking and entertaining. She had that rare ability to make anyone who walked into her home feel like they were the most special person in the world.

She was the devoted and much-loved mother of Wendy Bellavance of South Orleans, Elizabeth Taber of Bradenton, Fla., John G. Wallace of Wellfleet, Laurie Simko of Chelmsford, Robert Wallace of Wellfleet, and James Wallace of Wellfleet. She is also survived by a sister, Marjorie McGuinness of Lexington. She was the sister of the late Beatrice Dacey of Waltham. Helen was the grandmother of 13 and great-grandmother of 11.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on May 9, 2009, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Route 6 in Wellfleet. Burial will follow at Pleasant Hill Cemetery and a reception will be held at the family home in Wellfleet.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Orleans Convalescent Home and Retirement Center, 60 Daley Terrace, Orleans, MA 02653; or to the charity of one's choice.

Nickerson Funeral Home

508-255-0259