Kyle Elizabeth (Buckner) Helms

Mrs. Kyle Elizabeth (Buckner) Helms, of Groesbeck, passed away Wednesday, June 23, 2010, at the Limestone Medical Center, at age 99. Graveside services will be held at 11:00 A.M., Friday, June 25, 2010, at the Woodlawn Garden of Memories Cemetery, (off IH 10), 1101 Antoine Dr., Houston, TX. Kyle was born October 23, 1910, to Ira Martin and Selena (Dixon) Martin in Cherokee County, Texas. She was the third of ten children, three of which still survive, and with three brothers and three sisters preceding her in death. Kyle received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Texas Tech University and worked on her Doctorate at the University of Houston. She survived two husbands, Oran S. Buckner, Sr., who passed away in 1959, and W. D. (Denton) Helms, who passed away in 2002. Kyle and husband Oran were both teachers, but in the forties, they both went to work for the newly established Social Security Administration in Baltimore, Maryland. When they were transferred back to Houston, a couple could not both work in the same office so she went back to teaching school. She taught school for 47 years, 40 of which were in Houston. H.I.S.D. awarded her a diamond pin upon retirement. She and her second husband, Denton Helms lived over 20 years in Hubbard, where he owned Helms Small Engine Co. and she oversaw the restoration of the old "McGuffy home" and blessed all with her beautiful yard. She was an outdoor person, and active in the daily operations of Helms Beefmasters, a registed Beefmaster breeder. Mrs. Helms relocated to the Windsor Healthcare Rehab in Groesbeck four years ago, where she remained very active walking daily until the week before her death. She is survived by a daughter, Billy Ruth Buckner Ready-Gellenthin of Houston; a son, Oran S. Buckner, Jr. and wife Julie of Groesbeck; 5 grandchildren; 10 great grandchildren; 7 great-great grandchildren; and 5 great, great-great grandchildren; a sister, Ira Lena Martin Simmons of Sweetwater; and two brothers, Herschel A. Martin of Lubbock and Winston H. Martin of Lubbock. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations may be made in Mrs. Helms' name to any charity of choice, or to the family's selection of the B.E.E.F. Foundation (for research and education.)