HIGHLANDS - Helen Talley Conway was born May 31, 1931, in Highlands to Walter and Mae Talley. She was the oldest of seven children and had three brothers and three sisters.
Being the oldest girl, she cared for all the family and her mom and dad. She was very smart, loved learning and excelled in math, accounting and office work. Her dad wanted the house dark by 8 p.m. because work started at 4 a.m. on the farm, so she did her homework by kerosene lamp. She attended Highlands High School and went on to attend West Palm Beach Junior College.
Helen worked many jobs from caretaking to real estate and insurance. She kept working until she was in her 80s and her last job was with Bremmer & Rogers CPA.
She loved to shop at the thrift store. When her husband passed away, a friend told her to go on a cruise. She said “No, I want to go to the thrift store!” She always took care of all the family and bought them clothes and anything that was needed. She was not fond of “lazy people.” She loved to find good deals. She paid for additions on the old farmhouse with her small salary and she was able to put her son through dental school. She was very diligent, frugal and thrifty. She loved jewelry, dishes, whatnots and anything colorful and pretty. Her favorite TV show was “Little House on the Prairie.”
Helen met her husband, Bob, at the First Baptist Church. They both taught Sunday school and Bob sang in the choir. Helen and Bob spent every vacation in North Carolina visiting family.
Helen is survived by grandchildren, Madison Jackson (Leonard) and Andy Conway; great-granddaughter, Willow; sisters, Dorothy Higdon of Franklin and Mary Lou Anderson of Flower Mound, Texas; brother, Homer Talley of Franklin; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her only son, her parents, two brothers, and one sister.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 12 p.m. at Loomis Family Funeral Chapel in Apopka, Florida, with burial following in Highland Memory Garden in Apopka, Florida.