Helen Bellows

Helen (Baird) Bellows of Falmouth, MA, passed away peacefully on September 23, 2025, at age 97. Helen was born on January 12, 1928, in New York City and shortly thereafter, moved to New Jersey with her family where she was raised and lived until marrying the love of her life, Ralph C. Bellows, in 1950. The young couple moved to Chestnut Hill, MA, where Ralph, a Yale graduate, worked as an engineer and started their family by having a daughter, Susan, and a son, Thomas. Their bright future was abruptly cut short when Ralph succumbed to polio in 1955. After mourning the loss of her husband, Helen returned to school earning her bachelor's and master's degrees in education. She was an elementary school teacher for 25 years in Enfield, CT, before retiring and spending her later years living in Sebring, FL, with her friends, working for a travel company which enabled her to travel, go to casinos, and have fun. In her lifetime, Helen was devoted to family, friends, food, and fun. She loved spending time with her loved ones, and the dinner table was always a place of laughter and love. She was known for baking her famous apple pie and sending cookie care packages to her grandchildren. She spent her free time creating beautiful art projects from embroidery, knitting, and tole painting, reading good books, doing puzzles and playing scrabble, card games, and dominoes. She was a lifelong devoted fan of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy and tuned in every night. She even was a contestant on the once popular tv game show, "Password", and was partnered with the famous actress, Betty White. Her kind and joyful spirit was evident to all who knew her. Helen is survived by her children, Susan Jones (Bellows) of Falmouth, MA, and Thomas Bellows and his wife Alesse of Troy, MO. She also loved being "Grammy" to Justin, Alex, Timothy, Heather, and Christopher, and "Great Grammy" to Claire, Emmett, Landon, Tanya, and Daryl. She enjoyed spending time with her nieces and nephews and many other cherished family members and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Alexander and Helen Baird, and her six siblings. A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, October 14th, at Hillcrest Park Cemetery, in Springfield, MA. In lieu of flowers, donations in Helen's memory may be made to Alzheimer's Association.