Helen Washington

On Tuesday, December 9, 1924, Helen Mims was born in rural Selma, Alabama. She was the only daughter of Frank Mims and Ollie Craig Mims. Her brother, Warren Mims, preceded her in death. He was ten months old when he died of diphtheria on October 13, 1923. When Helen was five years old, her mother, Ollie Mims died on February 16, 1929. Helen was nurtured by her father, Frank, and her grandmother, Delia Mims. Helen often talked about life in Selma including the day she was crowned "May Pole Queen". She spoke about Selma as if it were a world filled with rich relations, quirky customs, and strange politics. She remembered Selma, Alabama's beauty and remembered Selma, Alabama's darker side... in the 1930s. Still that small town was home; and she always exemplified the fortitude that she learned from being a Southerner. Helen attended Selma, Alabama public schools, and moved to Chicago, Illinois to attend the now historic Du Sable High School. While living in Chicago, Helen joined Greater Saint John Baptist Church where she served as an usher. Helen and her large Mims family were devoted members to one of Chicago's well-known churches. The pastor, William Johnson, came to visit her during his revival assignment in late April 1957. She lived with her Uncle Vernon Mims' family at 4759 Calumet Street on Chicago's south side. Their second floor tenement was clean and spacious. The front and dining rooms were filled with music, family gatherings, and very loud talks about politics. Sunday dinners at the Mims consisted of homemade rolls, fried chicken, "sweet peas", mashed potatoes, garden salads, and sweet potato pies. When Helen Mims was seventeen years old, she met a nineteen-year-old Army service man, Eugene Washington, while he was on a weekend pass in Chicago. The couple married on October 7, 1944, in Denver, Colorado. Pastor Wendell T. Liggins officiated. Jessie Whaley Maxwell played the piano for the wedding service. Fireman Edward Shorty sang at the ceremony. The couple's family consisted of daughter Clementine and a son, Eugene, II. The team of four lived at 3651 East 31st Avenue in Denver. Helen Mims Washington's membership began in 1944. She belonged to the Young Matrons Dramatic Club, The Church Wide Chorus, and the Esther Missionary Circle. Sister Helen also sang with choirs for special programs, worked with Women Days' committees, and served as a Church Anniversary History Committee chairperson. In 1982, she joined Pastor Wendell Theodore Liggins' Sunday School class... that is now called "The redeemed". Thank you, The Zion Baptist Church Family! After pursuing Practical Nurse education at the Gamper School of Nursing, she worked in the Nursing profession at Denver's Veteran Administration Hospital until her retirement in the late 1970s."Mama was one of the few people that never worked again after her early medical retirement. She took to retirement very well. She occasionally baby sat for family members... But when she left 5 South at the VA, she left the world of work for good! The Order of Eastern Stars Prince Hall Affiliation Evergreen Chapter # 3 organized May 15, 1911. Helen Washington was a Past Grand Worthy Matron circa 1998 until 2002. She was a faithful Eastern Star for fifty-nine years. Mrs. Washington was active in the Bronze Daughters Social and Civic Club and The Colorado Federation of Colored Women's Clubs Incorporated. As a Colored Women Clubs member, Helen held local, state, regional, and national offices. Her last national office was chairperson of the National Cycle Cell Anemia program. She was proud that she had never missed a state meeting. Working with her group of club friends was a joy. They traveled together as if they were a band of sisters waiting for the next adventure. June Pryor, Jerry Ritchie, Maxine Hood, Johnnie B. Peters, Brenda Jackson, Olivia Toles, Judy K. Kirkland, Merriel Scroggins, Sharon Bridgeforth, Debra Ford Williams, and others were some of her "convention and Federation buddies". She contributed financially to the clubhouse purchase and maintenance. She supported programs given by her treasured, La Bella Arts Club. She was one of the initiators of the now annual Gospel Concert. She helped orchestrate a Tom Thumb wedding and fashion shows. Reciprocities, youth-centered programs, and oratorical contests were some of her favorite events. She belonged to the Colorado Federation of Colored Women's Clubs for about forty-five years. Helen Washington received awards, recognition, and words of praise for her work in her prized social, civic, and Eastern Star associations. She was our angel because of her willingness to help, listen to, and care about people. She was concerned about the C student, people with weak voices, and people without bootstraps. Well done, Helen Mims Washington, you leave a legacy to be cherished and a void that can never be filled. Take your rest, we all loved you but Gods love you best. She is preceded in death by her husband, Eugene Washington, I. Helen Mims Washington departed this life to the embrace of the Lord, on October 30, 2016, in Denver, Colorado. Those left to cherish her memory and mourn her loss, include her son, Eugene Washington, II; daughter, Clementine Washington Pigford; 3 grandsons, Robert (Stacee) Edward Pigford, II, Michael (Arzehell) Christopher Genesis and Daniel Allen Brown; two granddaughters, Denea (Dewayne) Eleece Ray, and Delores Brown; two great granddaughters, Airielle (Justin)Powe, and Robyn Eleece Pigford; seven great grandsons, Aaron Michael Genesis; Dewayne, Xavier, O'Shawn, Josiah Ray, Zaire Houston and Jeremiah Isby, Aurora, Colorado.; nephew, Vernie Lee Scott, Jr. and niece, Alva L Scott, Aurora. Great-Aunt of Tamara and Jason Scott and Brianna; cousins, Vernon Mims, Jr.; Lamont Mims; Elvin Vaughn, Jr., and Paulette Mims Caven, Bertram, Bruce, and Magnolia Elizabeth Mims; the Honorable Emile Jones, Jr.; she was still close to former sister-in-law, Juanita Bolden Scott Johnson and former daughter- in-law, Ruthie Brown Washington; her faithful neighbors, Harry Goens, Margaret "Peggy" Snell, the Douglas Holinshed family, and Raymond Fair.

Funeral Home: Pipkin Braswell Funerals and Cremation - 2050 Uinta Street, Denver, Colorado
Visitation: 11/7/2016 at 9:00 AM - Zion Baptist Church - 933 East 24th Avenue, Denver, CO
Service: 11/7/2016 at 11:00 AM - Zion Baptist Church - 933 East 24th Avenue, Denver, CO
Cemetery: 11/8/2016 - Fort Logan National Cemetery - 4400 W. Kenyon Ave., Denver, CO