Norma Jean Helms' Obituary
Norma Jean Riddle Helms passed away peacefully the evening of Friday, February 26, 2021 at Baylor Scott & White Hospital in Temple, Texas. She was born March 28, 1031 in Dallas at Methodist Hospital to Chleo Scott Riddle and J. Howard Riddle. She attended schools in Dallas Oak Cliff and graduated from Sunset High School in 1947. She was a long time member of Hampton Place Baptist Church in Dallas, where her parents were among the founding members. She was a lover of Jesus, and did not hesitate to let people know it. So many people remember her for her sweet, engaging smile and her joyful demeanor. Norma was a lover of tennis, and even more, a lover of music. In her younger days she performed both as singer and pianist. She often sang for weddings and funerals and once auditioned for the Dallas Summer Musicals, singing Summertime from the Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess.. Norma attended Mary Hardin Baylor on a music scholarship and after two years switched to UT Austin to major in business with a minor in music, continuing to study voice and piano. After graduation from UT in 1951, she worked as an accountant for several small firms before joining Texas Instruments in 1957. While at TI she earned her qualification as Certified Public Accountant, becoming one of the few female CPAs in the Dallas area at the tiime. She was a member of the Texas Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs for over 50 years. She became responsible for corporate consolidation accounting at TI before meeting Gene Helms there in 1961. Norma and Gene were married in May, 1963. After their marriage Norma retired to become a homemaker. She always said that she needed to leave TI because she felt that her position as an insider could hamper Gene’s career. So she gave up a promising career out of concern for his. Theyraised two children, Joanna and David. Norma and Gene became members of Spring Valley Baptist Church, later to be known as Park Central Baptist, in 1969 and remained members for over 50 years. Norma was faithful for many years in the children’s ministry of the church and sang in the choir. In 2018 she and Gene moved to Belton to be near their daughter and grandchildren. Norma lived all her life in Dallas, except for college years and her last years in Belton. Norma is preceded in death by her father, J. Howard Riddle and her mother, Chleo Scott Riddle. She is survived by her husband, Eugene W. Helms of Belton, daughter Dr. Joanna Stacey and husband Daryl of Belton, son David Helms and wife Amy of Denton, and grandchildren Emma Stacey of College Station, Cameron, Kendall, and Rowen Stacey of Belton, Alison Helms of Edmund, OK, and Rachel Helms of College Station. Services to be held at Park Central Baptist Church with interment at Restland Cemetery in Dallas on March 15, 2021
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