Helen Dean McKendree, 86, of Symsonia, left this life on Thursday, August 29, 2024, at her home surrounded by love.
She didn’t gain her angel wings; she was born with them on August 13, 1938, in Benton, Kentucky, to John Ojal Clark and Lou Nell Tubbs. She enjoyed working in her vegetable garden and canning various items that everyone loved. In her spare time, she loved sewing and listening to music, especially Conway Twitty. She was the maker of all things delicious. One of the things she was the most passionate about was cooking and baking. Her food was not just a meal but a warm embrace, a taste of her love. If you ate her food, you were blessed because there was so much love in everything she made, and you knew it. She was one of the kindest, most gentle spirits to possibly ever walk this earth. She was the great oak of her family, always a lighthouse of love, gentleness, and safety. To quote a dear family friend, ‘If feeling at home were embodied in a single person, she was it.’ She was a fantastic wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who will leave behind many special memories to be cherished for many years.
She is survived by her two daughters, Bonita Kay McKendree of Symsonia and Tammy Lou Gamble of Benton; two brothers, Paul Thomas Clark (Martha) and RC Clark (Shelia), both of Benton; five grandchildren, Daniel Gipson, Jessica Holland, Dustin Gipson, Megan Diana Gamble, and Lucas Gamble; and her great-grandchildren, Waylon Dean, Lucian Dale, Blake, Zach, Chelsy, Laken, Jake, Payton, Christian, Asher, and Keira.
She was proceeded in death by her husband, Jimmy Dale McKendree; one daughter, Felicia Gipson; her two brothers, Johnny Clark and James Lee Clark; one great-grandson, Brantley Gamble; and her parents, John Ojal Clarl and Lou Nell Tubbs.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations to Hamlet Cemetery Fund, ℅ Cindy Rose, 1725 Dunn Cemetery Road, Benton, KY 42025.
Filbeck-Cann Funeral Home of Milner & Orr is handling the arrangements.
A graveside service will be held at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, at Hamlet Cemetery with Bro. Gary Knuckles officiating.
To share a memory or leave a message for the family, please visit www.filbeckandcann.com.