of Little Rock, AR

September 17, 1940 - October 6, 2021

About a quarter past eight in the evening on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, with family at her side, Helen Marie Andrews, 81, found her way home. Her transition was peaceful and pain-free. Though she didn't carry the memory of her full and meaningful life with her into her last few months, those of us who loved her carry it for her. She left no unfinished business.

She was born on September 17, 1940 in Little Rock, Arkansas, which she left in 1958 to live in Las Cruces, New Mexico, then Greensboro, North Carolina. Returning to Little Rock in 1974, she bought a house which in her youth she'd considered her dream home. There she raised her four children, Dr. Arlan ''Andy'' Keith Andrews, Jr., Amanda ''Mandy'' Marie Andrews, Dr. Sean Anson Andrews, and Kris Austen Andrews.

She spent her entire life focusing on fulfilling her needs and desires: She needed to know the people she loved had all the encouragement and support necessary to live their best lives. She needed to be there for her children and grandchildren: every birthday, holiday, every personal victory and sorrow. When she couldn't be there in person, she sent boxes full of treats and decorations, cards with money taped inside, even plates and napkins for birthday celebrations. She needed to make sure we all knew she was crazy in love with us and would do just about anything within her power to make sure we smiled at every opportunity.

Throughout her life she needed to be there for her children. An active leader in boy scouts and girl scouts and PTA; she was our transportation to baseball games, music lessons, and more. She sat through countless concerts and recitals, honors programs and graduations. She played on the floor with us when we were little and Scrabble with us when we were big. She hosted magnificent birthday parties when we were little and when we were big, she drove and flew miles and miles several times a year to be there for special occasions and sometimes just because. When she was younger, she hid Easter eggs, sewed prom dresses and Halloween costumes, crocheted, did macramé and copper tooling, dabbled in resin, quilted, made fancy Christmas ornaments, and tried her hand at just about every craft that came along. When she was older, she helped her kids decorate for Halloween and turned her own home into a Christmas wonderland with no surface, vertical or horizontal, left unadorned.

She desired to have a home that welcomed others with cupboards full of food, closets full of everything a visitor would need, a room full of games and toys, shelves full of books, and plenty of movies and programs on VHS, DVD, and myriad cable channels she herself never watched. Even when it was just her in that big old house, she desired to stay there to make sure we could all come visit her and stay as long as we needed to stay. The house was at its fullest at Christmastime. As often as possible everyone would come: her oldest son Andy, wife Kathleen, and children Sarah and Adam; her favorite daughter Mandy, with sons Kirby and Anthony; and her twin sons-Sean with daughter Lauren and Kris, wife Elizabeth, and sons Alex and Ian. Even the exes, Roger and Becky, were welcomed anytime, their stockings included on the mantle year after year. Family is family.

Those who love her take some comfort in knowing she was ready to go. She lived a full and wonderful life, leaving no loose ends. Andy, Kathleen, and Adam, Mandy, and her brother Charles, his wife Ree with daughter Shannon and granddaughter Charli, were able to be there with her during her final moments. Ree and family made sure she had everything she needed, and got to every appointment throughout the pandemic and right up to the end. Her niece Betty Anderson made sure she had steady employment, and retirement after her 40+ years as bookkeeper for Frances Flower Shop, where her sister Pete first hired her in 1974.

Greeting her in heaven are parents, Merrill and Edith Dinger; brothers, Donald and Myrl ''Sonny''; sister, Golda Mae ''Pete'' Rummel; nephew, Peewee Rummel; niece, Donna Rackley and her son, Larry; and son-in-law, Roger Killian. Left behind to miss her dearly is everyone listed above, and Sonny's wife, Donna and daughter, Myrl, plus a host of other nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, coworkers, and neighbors.

Graveside service will be 3:00 p.m., Saturday, October 23, 2021 at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Alexander. The family will receive friends from 1:00 -2:30 p.m. at Roller-Chenal Funeral Home

Rest well, Helen/Mom/Grandma/G-Dog.

You've earned it.

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