Ira Lander Helms' Obituary
Obituary
Ira Lander Helms, Jr. of Damascus, Maryland died September 22, 2014. Born in Parris, Alabama on May 27, 1924, he was the son of Ira Lander Helms, a WW I Army veteran, and Allie Pearl Lavender. The first son amongst six siblings, he started college at Louisburg College in North Carolina and joined the National Guard. Called up for service early in his second year, he began pilot training and served in the 194th Engr Combat Bn, in the Army Air Corps during WWII as a B-24 bomber pilot. After 43 missions over Europe 1944-1945, and no casualties, he was discharged with victorious meritorious honor, from the Corps as a 1st Lieutenant, and returned to finish his education at North Carolina State. A member of Theta Tau engineering fraternity and Pi Tau Sigma, honorary mechanical engineering society, he graduated with honors from NC State in 1949 with a BS degree in mechanical engineering. He married Nancy Camille Ford in 1949 in Oak Ridge, TN. After her death, he married Dorothy Louise Hill in Damascus, MD in 2012. His engineering career primary involved design work on nuclear propulsion for aircraft and rockets and nuclear energy system designs. After over 40 years with the DOE he retired and enjoyed serving as a consultant, traveling, working on Helms genealogy research, making furniture, attending church, and keeping up with his vegetable garden. Besides working full time, raising five children, and making beautiful furniture, he was an active church member of the First Baptist Church of Damascus for over 50 years and served in many leadership roles including head of the building committee, the finance committee, as superintendent of Sunday School, as a deacon, and on a team for a mission trip to remodel the office building for the Long Island Baptist Association. With his high caliber wood working skills, he made physical contributions to the church as well, including the large wooden cross above the baptismal pool, and the minister's oak and walnut pulpit. Survivors include his wife, Dorothy Louise Helms; his sisters, Eudora H. Andrews of Scotland Neck, NC and Ann H. Lemoine of Las Vegas, NV, and his brother, Joseph Lee Helms of Alexandria, Virginia; his children Alice Helms Allnutt, Sally Helms, Ira Lander Helms, III, John William Helms and Jennifer Helms Abrams, and his step-daughter Kathleen Hill; his grandsons Matthew Allnutt, Gabriel Godfrey, Stephen Helms, Scott Helms, Michael Rowe, Gregory Abrams, Sean Abrams, Jason Abrams, Christopher Helms, Harrison White; his granddaughters Kate A. Panikian, Cassandra A. DeAngelis, and Abigail White; and his great-grandchildren Lindsay Godfrey and Miles Aron Panikian; and many nephews, nieces, and cousins. He is predeceased by his parents, his wife of 61 years, Nancy Ford Helms, his siblings Thomas C. Helms, Virgil Roe Helms, and Florence H. Burnham. The family will receive friends at Molesworth-Williams Funeral Home, 26401 Ridge Road, in Damascus, Friday, September 26th, 3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Funeral services will be held Saturday, September 27th, 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Damascus, 8850 Damascus Road, Damascus. Interment will follow in Resthaven Memorial Gardens, Frederick, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Baptist Church of Damascus, VFW, or American Legion Post 171, Damascus, Maryland. VisitationMolesworth-Williams P.A. Funeral HomeDamascus,, MD Friday, September 26, 2014 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM ServiceFirst Baptist Church of Damascus8850 Damascus RoadDamascus,, MD Saturday, September 27, 2014 11:00 AM CemeteryResthaven Memorial Gardens9501 Catoctin Mtn HwyFrederick, MD Saturday, September 27, 2014 1:00 PM
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