Helen Therese (Welch) Parker

Helen Therese (Welch) Parker, 94, of Ipswich MA and Newburyport MA, peacefully passed away on August 31, 2023. She was surrounded by her loving family.

Helen was born on August 6, 1929 to Agnes and John C. Welch, Sr. in Quincy MA. She graduated from Quincy High School in 1947. After high school, Helen trained and worked as a bookkeeper.  Her skill with numbers and the ability to balance accounts to the exact penny was something she took much pride in and utilized throughout her lifetime.

Helen married Glen Eri Parker on July 8, 1951. They lived in Hollywood CA, Cincinnati OH and Marblehead MA before building a house in Ipswich MA and settling there in 1958 where they raised their family. Both Helen and Glen were life-long residents of Ipswich.

Helen had a wide variety of interests and hobbies ranging from sewing and knitting; bowling in her Ipswich league; playing the piano; and oil painting. She enjoyed diverse types of music, had a great sense of rhythm, and loved to dance. If a good song was playing her foot would be tapping! Helen was a wonderful baker and the go-to person for any dessert including the best pies, cupcakes, cookies, whoopie pies, brownies, and cakes. Everything was delicious and memorable.

In the 1970s, Helen worked at the former Ipswich Chronicle. She enjoyed the fast-paced environment; co-workers who became friends; and meeting the customers that she assisted.

Helen was an avid gardener and a member of the Ipswich Town and Country Garden Club for decades. She designed and planted her gardens in Ipswich where the plants and trees have flourished for the past 60 years. Primarily, Helen just loved to be outdoors. Even when she started needing help maintaining her gardens, she would still be outside puttering around and enjoying nature.

Helen loved to travel and had an adventurous spirit. She visited most of the U.S. and Canada as well as many European countries. Driving was one of her favorite things to do and she had no qualms about hitting the open road ... many times going from coast to coast in the family Ford station wagon with four kids in the back. Whether she was driving through the Badlands or maneuvering that station wagon along narrow roads over the Rockies, she was fearless and confident.

Helen is predeceased by her loving husband Glen. Helen is survived by her daughter Janet Domingo and her husband Raymond; daughter Laurel Kincaid and her husband Daryl; daughter Patricia Parker and her husband Fernando Umpierrez; son Glen Parker and his husband Erick Urbina; and Helen’s grandchildren Jeanette Kincaid and Douglas Kincaid.

A Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30AM on Thursday, September 7, 2023 in Our Lady of Hope Church, 54 Linebrook Road, Ipswich. An hour of visitation will be held prior to the funeral at Morris Funeral Home, 45 North Main Street, Ipswich, from 9-10AM.  Family and friends are respectfully welcomed. Interment will be in the New Highland Cemetery, 29 Town Farm Road, Ipswich. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions in Helen’s name may be
made to the Trustees of Reservations via their Honor and Memorials Gifts page on:  www.thetrustees.org .  To send a letter of condolence to Helen’s family please go to:  MorrisFH.com .

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