Helen Cromwell Prendergast

Helen C. Prendergast, 91, of Saint Marys, died Tuesday, February 12, 2019, at Otterbein Saint Marys Retirement Community.

Helen Prendergast was an accomplished seamstress and avid shopper who was very proud of how much people liked her deviled eggs.

She loved tomatoes so much she ate them like apples. She believed the most important thing she and her husband could do for their daughters, Joan and Jane, was to pay for their college educations, which they did. She also made both their wedding dresses.

Helen was that mom who lay awake at night if her kids were out and didn't sleep until she heard them open the front door. A homemaker, she cooked a family dinner every night and always said she did everything around the house - including painting, mowing the lawn - so that when her husband, John, got home from work, he could spend evenings with their girls.

Helen survived a heart attack and beat cancer twice. She died Monday after her third fall in recent months. She was 91.

She was a long time member of Wayne Street United Methodist Church, where she brought those popular deviled eggs to funeral dinners. A chicken and rice dish served at the dinners is still referred to in the family as "funeral chicken."

She was a member of a hospital guild and Friends of the Library. She led a Brownie troop.

Helen was born in Cincinnati on Oct. 9, 1927 to Mary Margaret (Gavin) and Robert Cromwell. She married John "Jack" Prendergast on June 11, 1949. He died in 2010. They lost an infant daughter, Marcia.

Helen worked briefly for Shillito's, where she had taken part in a high school program that gave girls experience in all aspects of the department store. Her favorite department was men's ties - she loved the patterns and feel of the fabrics. She told stories about working the candy counter and helping mothers decide which candies would best survive being mailed to their sons who were fighting in World War II.

She is survived by daughters Joan (James) Frey of St. Marys and Jane (Dennis) Meyer of Cincinnati. She loved her five grandchildren: Tom Frey of St. Marys, and Chloe, Johnny, Nick and Jack Meyer of Cincinnati.

Funeral services will be held 3:00 P.M.Tuesday, February 19, 2019, at the Miller-Long and Folk Funeral Home, 314 West High Street, Saint Marys, the Reverend Tim Benjamin, officiant. Burial will follow at Elm Grove Cemetery.

Friends may call from 1:00 P.M. til the time of services on Tuesday.

Memorial contributions can be sent to Helen's favorite store - Agape, 1220 E. Spring St., St. Marys, Ohio 45885.