Helen Mason may have departed us unexpectedly on March 15, 2020, but she lived a great life that touched everyone she knew.    Helen was known for her straightforward, yet passionate approach towards help others, especially from her New Elam Christian Church family.  Born on October 12, 1926 she embodied the physical and mental of toughness found in many of the North Carolina farming families during the Great Depression.  Throughout the World War II era, Helen worked alongside the rest of the Peele family to survive and support her community. In May 1947, Helen met and married the love of her life, Robert (Bob) Mason from Sanford, NC, shortly after he left the U.S. Navy.  She often described their courtship as an unusually short six months, but that there were no doubts about complete devotion towards each other.   Her affection for Bob's handsome thick black hair and "twinkle of a smile" were marveled at by everyone in their immediate family.  Together, they raised two beautiful daughters Linda Childress and Jeanie Ray and were extremely proud of their five grandchildren.    Helen's unyielding devotion to family and community became her hallmarks.  Her greatest pride was the five grandchildren that surrounded her often, and who proudly exemplified the great heritage she had sought for them.  After the passing of Bob in 2001, she found great comfort in the company of this new generation which had now grown to include seven great- grandchildren.  Helen continued to work alongside and listen to this "New Generation" and took great pride in how devoted they were to each other and their neighbors.   Like Bob, Helen's signature was her hair, although seemingly always white and thick.  Most who knew her took that as a sign of her wisdom and common-sense approach to every facet of life.  Helen truly exemplified the woman in Proverbs 31, that states "charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."   Please join the Childress and Ray families, and their many friends on Saturday, March 21 ^st from 6:00 till 8:00 PM at Smith Funeral Home in Broadway, NC and for rites of burial on Sunday, March 22 ^nd at 2:00 PM at New Elam Christian Church Cemetery in New Hill, NC. Donations to the GoFundMe.com site flatwoodboysstaystrong for the Sanderford family may be made in lieu of flowers. Online condolences can be made at www.smithfuneralhomebroadway.com Arrangements are by the Smith Funeral Home of Broadway.