Helen Marie Ehlinger Smith

1949 - 2024

Helen Marie Ehlinger Smith

May 19, 1949 - Sep 2, 2024

It was February, 1971, and a cold rainy evening in Knoxville, TN, had set in.

Helen Marie was in the Life Sciences building looking for her rabbit. The rabbit was the subseat of an immunology experiment she was conducting. Apparently, someone decided to relocate the cages and Helen got bumfoozled in her search, went down the wrong corridor, and ended up peeking into the laboratory where I was working at my desk. She said, "You're not a rabbit!" to which I earnestly agreed.

We found the cages and Helen cuddled her furry friend. I escorted her back to the dormitory and our life-long conversation began. Three months later we had an outdoor wedding at Cades Cove in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. It was love at first sight and for 54 years that Love surprise kept its ZING.

We moved to Winston Salem in 1976 and Helen did volunteer work teaching arts and crafts to disabled young folks with her mentor, Shirley Harrington. Helen also was an aid at the Pediatric Oncology Section at Baptist Hospital directed by Dr. Richard Patterson. A turning point for Helen occurred when she worked in the gift shop at SECCA. Her boss, Tamara Probst, encouraged her by letting Helen display her colorful cards in the shop. Helen really liked Tamara. Helen began taking lithography, metal sculpting, and painting classes in the art department of Wake Forest University. She set up her own lithography press and metal plate etching equipment in our house. She made some very fine pieces that even Tom Patterson liked!

Helen opened her own gallery shop, Quantum Art, in Ron Probst's building on Sixth and Trade. She was in her element with the hustle and bustle of the crowds during Gallery Hop nights. Helen did some respectable business and had some fans. Even with her non-stop activities, Helen put in the energy to make our house a home. She filled it with her artwork, the sounds of her piano, aromas of her preparations of Indian cuisine, and that insatiable curiosity.

In 2005, Helen began developing a micro philanthropy venture. She built a stock portfolio that generated modest returns which she used to help out a number of community programs and military organizations like USO. She was active managing this project to the end of her life.

Helen was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in March, 2023. Dr. Samuel Lentz and his team of young, enthusiastic physicians and their nurses did their level best.

Helen underwent six months of chemotherapy followed by major abdominal surgery. She responded well and faced it all bravely and with her sense of humor intact.

She was a hit with the medical students who would visit with her during her hospitalization. Three months ago, the cancer came back. It could not be treated. In this final stage Trellis Hospice began palliative care. Helen died at Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home early Labor Day morning.

Helen Marie was born in 1949 in Joliet, Illinois. The Ehlinger family moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1952, where Helen did most of her growing up. She graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1971 with a bachelor of science degree in microbiology. She is survived by her husband Peter Blaise Smith, her brothers George and Harold Ehlinger, sister-in-law Kay Ehlinger, and niece Joanne Ehlinger and nephew Mark Ehlinger.

I am grateful for the efforts of all the fine people who were involved in Helen's care. They preserved her human dignity and brought her relief from the pain. They did so with gentleness and around the clock vigilance to make sure Helen's comfort was met. God bless them.

Condolences may be shared online at www.salemfh.com.

Salem Funeral & Cremation Service

2951 Reynolda Rd., Winston-Salem, NC 27106