Eugene Childress Helms

Eugene Childress Helms, 87, of Gilmer, Texas, was born on Christmas Eve, 1933, in Jefferson, Texas, to the late Harvey Lee and Nellie Bell (Hill) Helms. He passed on Friday, April 23, 2021, at his home.
Mr. Helms was a proud veteran of the US Navy. While stationed in San Diego, he met the love of his life, Mary Carolyn Kilcrease, and they married on July 31, 1955. They enjoyed 60 years of marriage. Mrs. Helms passed from this life on September 21, 2015 and Gene mourned her loss until the very end. As a student at Diana High, he was an outstanding basketball player and carried a love for the game throughout his life. While his children were growing up, he served on the Diana School Board for many years. As a husband and father, he was a tireless, hard worker who made every sacrifice to meet his family's needs. He taught his children the value of hard work by example and the family labored side by side in various endeavors throughout the years, from working on the family farm, cutting hay, and running Mr. and Mrs. Helms’s C&C Western Wear in Longview. Gene, or Childress, as some knew him by, loved to have his family close by him in whatever he was doing. He was good-hearted and kind and loved to share with friends and neighbors the many things that he grew in his garden. You could often find him fishing or running a trot-line- likely with his best friend, Clyde. He loved to talk on the CB and everyone in the family was given a “handle”. His was “Graceton Goose” and his beloved wife was “no name lady” for anonymity- no doubt.
Before opening C&C Western Wear, Gene retired from the Mechanical Maintenance Division of Texas Eastman Chemical Company. He was a member of Graceton Church of Christ.
Surviving Mr. Helms are daughters, Ellen Hankins and husband, Danny, and Jeannie Carol Gibson; sons, Gary Lee Helms, and Michael Curtis Helms, and his wife, Cindy; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Mary Carolyn Kilcrease Helms; and brothers, Glenn Helms, Huel Helms, R.D. Helms, and O’Neal Helms, who died as a small child.
A Celebration of Life Service for Eugene Childress Helms will be at 10 am, Thursday, April 29, 2021, at Graceton Church of Christ in Upshur County. His interment will follow at Mattox Cemetery in Diana, Tx. The family will receive visitors, 5-7PM, Wednesday, April 28,2021 at Grubbs-Loyd Funeral Home in Diana.