Helen Arlene Ford

Helen Arlene Ford, 97, formerly of Parkesburg, passed away on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at the Quarryville Presbyterian Home following a brief illness.

Born in East Petersburg, Arlene was the daughter of William E. and Elizabeth H. Poole. After attending the schools in East Petersburg, Lancaster and Honey Brook, in Chester County, she graduated as a Registered Nurse from the Women's Homeopathic Hospital in Philadelphia. Graduating during the depression, it was difficult to find a job in nursing so she lived at home and took private cases. For a few years, she lived with her brother in New Holland and worked as a dental assistant in his office. Eventually, she returned to Philadelphia as a nurse at the Presbyterian Hospital and by 1943 had become a supervisor. In the spring of 1945 she joined the Army Nurse Corps and served as a Second Lieutenant in Texas and in the Panama Canal Zone.

In 1948, she married her dear husband Albert M. Ford of Parkesburg and after living a short time in Key West, Florida, they moved to a small farm near Atglen where they lived happily for over forty years. Most of all, she was a devoted mother to her stepson William M. Ford. Her garden, her knitting, crocheting, and needlework gave her great pleasure and she had a special gift for bringing the extended family together for summer picnics and Thanksgiving dinners on the farm. She was always an active member of the Presbyterian Church, and when the care of their country property became too difficult, they moved to the Quarryville Presbyterian Home where her husband died in 1994. There she has lived quite contentedly, taking a genuine and kind interest in those she knew; one of her friends there has said of her, "She never said anything bad about anyone." It was a testament to her character that the women of the Dyrness building took bedside shifts to comfort her during her last hours.

She is survived by Mary Jane (Varnes) Ford, widow of her step-son William M. Ford, two grandchildren: Kenneth Ford and Kathleen (Ford) Ruckdeschel, R.N., all of Kansas City, Missouri. She was also very fond of her two great-grandchildren, Cole and Nora Ford and nine nieces and nephews kept in contact with her.

She was preceded in death by two brothers, H. Herbert Poole, D.D.S., of New Holland, and W. Harold Poole of Lancaster, and by her sister Mary Ethel Galbraith of Toronto, Canada.

Family and friends are invited to attend Memorial services on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 2:00p.m. in the Ellingsworth Auditiorium of the Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community, 625 Robert Fulton Hwy, Quarryville, PA 17566 followed by inurnment at the Glen Run Cemetery, Atglen, PA. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Penningtonville Presbyterian Church, 406 Main St., Atglen, PA 19310.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Wilde Funeral Home of Parkesburg, PA. Online condolences can be posted at www.wildefuneralhome.com