[Obituary] The Rochester Sentinel - 26 Oct 2010
Mary Helen Piper Wells died peacefully in her sleep early Monday morning.
Born Jan. 15, 1923, in Richmond, Mary Helen was the daughter of Frank Reeves and Bernice Burnett Piper. Mary Helen and Eugene Harmon Wells (Gene) were married March 9, 1947, in Peru at the Methodist Church (now Main Street United Methodist Church) where Mary Helen was baptized as an infant and was a lifelong member.
Mary Helen is survived by her daughters, Sandra Wells Koerner and husband W. Patrick Koerner, Jeffersonville, and Christine Wells, Rochester; her grandchildren, Cali Koerner Morrison and husband Bryan and Christopher Patrick Harmon Koerner, all of Bozeman, Mont., and Elizabeth Wells Honeycutt, Rochester; a brother-in-law, James O. Wells Jr. and wife Chris, Rochester; sister-in-law Ruth Piper, Scotia, N.Y.; and nieces Mary Melinda Piper Perry and Lisa Piper and nephews David Reeves Piper and James Oscar Wells III. Grandnieces and -nephews include Oliver Wells, Emily Wells and Mindi Michelle Perry and grandnephew infant James Oscar Wells IV. This would not be complete without the addition of the dear family friends and neighbors the SerVass family, William and Jeanne, Michael and Linda and girls, and Andy and Lara and boys, all of Indianapolis and Rochester.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Gene; and a brother, Arthur "Bud" Piper.
A graduate of Methodist Hospital School of Nursing, Mary Helen will be remembered most as a nurse in the office of Dr. Sam and Dr. Don Ferrara. Mary Helen worked at Woodlawn Hospital in Rochester for eight years before retiring. Mary Helen attended maternity graduate studies at Chicago Lying-In Hospital and attended and assisted in the births of many friends and family members. Mary Helen possessed a keen sense of humor and enjoyed a good practical joke. As a child, brother Bud saddled her with the nickname "Butch" and it followed her through life - she answered to Butch as quickly as Mary Helen. She was looking forward to granddaughter Cali making her a great-grandmother in April 2011. She was a member of The Order of the Eastern Star, Peru Elkettes, the Phi Delt Club and a life member of Dukes Auxiliary.
A service celebrating the life of Mary Helen Wells will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Eikenberry-Eddy Funeral Home, 84 W. Main St., Peru, with Pastor Jim MacDonald officiating. Burial will be in Mount Hope Cemetery, Peru.