Helen Ann Eelman

Helen Ann Eelman, a longtime resident of Fruitland, Md., known for her bountiful garden, her love of dogs, art, and wine (in that order), ageless vigor and, at an earlier age, her effective curveball, died peacefully in her sleep January 21. She was 93.
Born Feb. 15, 1930, in Westfield, N.J. to LeRoy and Helen Geyer Thomas as the Depression tightened its grip, Ann was molded by that era along with her first-person exposure to World War II, the modern age's arrival, and the birth of America's expansive Middle Class.
She lived through the arrival of TV, the end of polio, the rise of nuclear weapons, the invention of social media, smartphones and other modern "conveniences." She witnessed Haley's Comet, a man walking on the moon, and deliveries by horse-drawn wagon, trucks, cars that drive themselves, and even drones. She supported the Civil Rights Movement but not the Vietnam War.
All of it molded Ann into a "strong, independent woman" long before that term became known. As a young woman, she was devoted to her horses and was an accomplished rider and jumper. She opened her own photography studio in the early 1950s after leaving her job taking pictures of newborns at the local hospital.
Ann adored her mother who was a talented and accomplished artist who studied in Germany. She inspired Ann to draw and paint in a way that carried forward until her last days. Her father was her role model, an engineer who nurtured her passion for power tools, making "things," and baseball. "He often was my patient catcher. We all loved playing horseshoes.too."
Her independence was apparent in 1953 when she was "elected" to represent the Thomas family at brother Dick's wedding in California. She flew on a lumbering Constellation that took 15 hours to reach Los Angeles from New York.
She was humored by Dick's friends' disbelief that she was from New Jersey. "They said that I did not have the accent! Guess they expected me to sound like I was from Brooklyn!" she said in a 2019 oral history.
Life wasn't endlessly idyllic, however. Not with three brothers fighting in World War II (they all survived) along with many other friends and acquaintances, some of whom never returned.
"One day I was home alone when a recently graduated college mate of my brother Roy, Don Cox, came by to say that he was now an Army pilot and was being sent to help the British in Africa," her oral history recounts. "He was a North Carolinian, tall, thin, with a lovely Southern drawl. His plane was shot down and he was killed. This was 1942; I was 12 years old."
Another difficult moment came in 1993 when her beloved husband, Dr. James C. Eelman, a deep thinking Reformed minister and theologian died.
Determined resilience, along her deep faith, provided robust armor.
She drew often upon those traits. In 1970 as a newly single mother, she piled herself, her children Helen and Charlie and the family dog into a VW Beetle and moved to North Carolina from New Jersey, using the Bug's gasping 53-horsepower engine to pull a U-Haul all the way to Winston-Salem. They lived in a $50-a-month tin-roofed cottage heated by a potbelly stove in the back and a cranky kerosene burner in the front.
Money was tight but Ann made sure happiness prevailed. She scrimped and found money to buy a beloved horse named Scarlet for Helen. She cleared a space and attached a basketball hoop to a tree for Charlie. Reprising her youth but now with a fatherless son, she made time to play catch and teach him to throw a tight-spinning curveball.
Whatever hardship occurred in North Carolina, it was over-matched by a family full of joy and by Ann achieving a blissful goal – marrying James, the love of her life. They lived the rest of their lives together, fitting like hands in perfectly measured gloves, first in Maryland then for a time in Canada, and finally, back to their final home in Fruitland.
They will be buried side-by-side in a cemetery near the Wicomico River. Ann is survived by her children, Helen Morgan (William), and Charlie Pope (Janet) along with four grandchildren (Dan, Charlotte, Drew, and Leah) and four great-grandchildren (Heidi, Emily, Avery, and Felix). Ann's three brothers, Roy, Dick and Ed, all predeceased her.
When asked to summarize her life and what gave it meaning, Ann had a ready answer.
"I love nature and am always amazed at my garden, which gives such joy. It is a joy to see cars slowing down so the drivers can enjoy the flowers that line the fence. God's world is so amazing. I dearly love animals and have been blessed with dear ones throughout my life.
"Life gives us so many possibilities. I am blessed with a few good friends and a wonderful family. I consider myself content-and very fortunate."
A memorial service for Ann will be held Feb. 3 at Wicomico Presbyterian Church. Visitation will take place at 9 am, followed by a memorial service at 10 am. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Humane Society of Wicomico County.
On Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 10am, Ann's Funeral Service Webcast may be viewed at your choice of the the following links:
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YouTube: www.youtube.com/wicomicopresbyterian