HELEN DAVIS PUTNAM

1921 - 2025

Helen (Dartt) Davis Putnam, 104, of Wellsboro, passed away peacefully at Leighton Place in Williamsport on November 12, 2025. Helen was born on March 17, 1921, in Wellsboro, to the late Myron and Christine Dartt.
Helen was a lifelong resident of Wellsboro. She graduated from Wellsboro High School in 1939. She married William (Bill) F. Davis in 1946 at the First Presbyterian Church of Wellsboro. They were married for almost 30 years until his death in 1976. She then married George Putnam in 1993 and enjoyed nine years of marriage until his death in 2002. She was also preceded in death by her younger siblings, Dorothy Stevens, Ruth Horton, Richard Dartt, and Phyllis Sims.
She is survived by her daughter: Linda (Robert) Woomer of Tyrone and her son: Joseph (Pamela) of Wellsboro; her grandchildren: Kerry Woomer of Killeen, Texas, Christy Grimm of Tyrone, Dr. Sara (Dr. Michael) Bowen of Lititz, and Jill Davis of Rochester, N.Y.; and great-grandchildren: Dylan (Alyssa) Osterhout of Ashville, Pa., and Joel and Aaron Bowen of Lititz. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews.
She is additionally survived by her stepchildren: Susan Halverstadt of Wellsboro, Roger (Linda) Putnam of Akron, Ohio, G. Brooks Putnam of Wellsboro, and Thomas Putnam of Wellsboro; 14 step-grandchildren and 19 step-great-grandchildren.
Helen was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Wellsboro for over 70 years. You could always find her in the back row, in the same seat every Sunday morning. She was a tireless volunteer at the church, serving on the Member Care and Rummage Sale Committees for many years. She also served as Elder of the church. She belonged to the Wednesday Morning Musicales, Eastern Star, and Sewing Club, and she was a Brownie Scout Leader. She enjoyed weekly Friday lunch dates with her friends at the Penn Wells Hotel. She regularly made cookies and "Presbyterian Soup" for church gatherings.
Helen worked at Carson Finance Company and the Hillview Market and was also a telephone operator. She and husband Bill owned and operated Davis Book and Gift Store in Wellsboro until his death. She volunteered as a Gray Lady at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital where she served at the visitors' desk. She also volunteered for the Wellsboro Food Pantry for many years; she was proud of the difference the food pantry made in the lives of the families she served. For her many years of service, she was featured on the front page of the Wellsboro Gazette at age 96. She also worked at the Presbyterian Child Development Center (PCDC). She took daily care of her local granddaughters, Sara and Jill, for many years. She was honored by the local radio station WNBT with the Outstanding Citizen Award in 1996. For her 100th Birthday, the church hosted a car parade at Country Terrace during COVID.
She told Wellsboro Homepage in her TV interview, "I do not feel any different at 100 than I did yesterday at 99."
Helen loved volunteering, eating chocolate or other sweets, creating cross stitch, baking cookies, writing letters, clipping coupons, supporting the arts of Wellsboro, and being present in the lives of her grandchildren at all their events. She loved trips to the Antlers Hunting Camp in Cedar Run and the cottage at Hills Creek. Helen also enjoyed traveling to Alaska, Kansas, Louisiana, and Seattle with her second husband, George. As well, she attended many Putnam family gatherings at their cottage. Every letter she wrote to her grandchildren closed with, "Always remember that I love you. You are special."
Friends and family are invited to attend her Life Celebration on Sunday November 16, at the First Presbyterian Church of Wellsboro, 130 Main Street, Wellsboro; 2:30 pm, greeting time; 3:30 pm, funeral; 4:30 pm, fellowship time.
Donations can be made in her memory to any of the following: First Presbyterian Church of Wellsboro, 130 Main St., Wellsboro; Wellsboro Area Food Pantry, 36 Main St., Wellsboro; Hamilton-Gibson Productions, 29 Water St., Wellsboro; Wednesday Morning Musicales, 170 South Main St., Mansfield, PA. 16933 (attn: Thomas Wierbowski).
Arrangements are entrusted to the Tussey-Mosher Funeral Home, 139 Main Street, Wellsboro. To share a memory or condolence with her family visit www.tusseymosher.com.