Obituary: Helen Desmarais, 85

The following obituary was provided by Fagan-Quinn Funeral Home.

Helen Claire Desmarais, 85, of North Kingstown, RI, died on May 6 surrounded by her loving family. She was the beloved wife of the late Army Colonel Arthur Joseph Desmarais, to whom she was married for over 50 years. 

Helen was born and raised in Fall River, MA, the daughter of the late Nora and Alfred McNally. She attended St. Patrick's parish school and graduated from the Dominican Academy. Following high school, she worked in the Payroll Department for the Fall River Knitting Mill and during World War II, she worked at the US Post Office, and at the Firestone Company inspecting gas masks. She and a friend were known to write notes to the soldiers, slipping them into the masks before they were shipped overseas.

She was a dedicated military wife, moving her family more than 20 times and making homes for them in far flung places around the world, including Germany, the Philippines and Alaska before it became a state. Helen was known for her quiet, gentle grace and her helpful spirit. While in the Philippines, she volunteered at the orphanage in Quezon City, and assisted the First Lady's effort to prepare food packages to be air dropped to villages in central Luzon that had been inundated by a typhoon in 1972. In Germany, during the middle of the night, she was called upon to help process American refugees back to the United States upon Russia's invasion of Czechoslovakia. She was an active member of the Officers' Wives' Club in the United States Army, and was a Girl Scout Leader. 

Among her own family, she was a thoughtful listener, often sought out by children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends. She had the gift of making each feel that their project or accomplishment was special, important and valued. She loved the ocean and enjoyed spending her summers as a child in Newport and later in Westport Harbor. Mostly, she loved spending time with her grandchildren. Helen was a cook of great repute and her immediate and extended family looked forward to frequent feasts. As a young girl, she had the patience to learn to cook from her Irish immigrant grandmother and she was the only family member able to carry on many of the family culinary traditions. 

She was a pioneer of her generation in computer technology and was very adept in using computers to keep in touch with her family and in researching her family's genealogy. She was also an avid sports fan, rarely missing a Patriots' game and also known to accompany grandchildren to Fenway Park for a Red Sox game. She was an excellent bowler. She was a devoted communicant of St. Francis De Sales Church in North Kingstown where she sang in the church choir for many years. 

Helen leaves five children, Karen Connery and her husband David of Virginia Beach, VA, Debra Nielsen and her husband Rolf of Lakewood Ranch, FL, Michael Desmarais and his wife Diane of North Kingstown, RI, Coreen Gardiner and her husband Fenwick of North Kingstown, RI and Colette Massa and her husband, Chris of Winchester, MA. She leaves six beloved grandchildren, Shannon Connery Barnes, Caitlin Tenney, Fenwick Gardiner III, Kevan Connery, Mykahla Gardiner and William Massa. She also leaves a sister, Constance Burton of Fall River, and a brother, Alfred McNally Jr. of Patterson, NJ. Another sister, Dorothea Mello, died in 2007. 

Relatives and friends are invited to attend Visiting Hours Friday 2-4pm, 7-9pm in the FAGAN-QUINN Funeral Home, 825 Boston Neck Road, North Kingstown. Her Funeral and Burial will be private.