Helen Marie Corlett

On Tuesday, February 14, 2023, Helen Marie [Davis-Bradbury] Corlett, loving mother and grandmother passed away at the age of 97. Preceding her in death were her husbands James T. Bradbury and Leroy E. Corlett, her daughter and son-in-law Minalou and Frank Martin, her parents Sabra and Murray Davis, brother Murray, sister Marjorie Green, and 2 grandsons. She is survived by four daughters and two sons. Helen earned a bachelor’s degree in education and spent the first half of her life as an elementary school teacher in San Benito, Texas. While working full time she raised four children with James Bradbury: Sabra, Minalou, Jamalee and Karla. She was also active in her church as a Sunday School teacher and choir member. She was a consultant in migrant education with the Texas Education Department, observing migrant programs in the Oregon school system. Helen had a love of travel and provided her children with the education that can only come through experiencing life in other places. As a result, to her delight and also to her dismay, most of her adult children traveled to and settled in different parts of the United States far from Willard, MO. After the passing of her first husband, Helen moved to Southwest Missouri, her ancestral home since the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Settling in Ash Grove initially, she met and married Leroy Corlett, a local dairy farmer. Their families blended, adding bonus children for Helen: John, Kathy, and Wesley Corlett. She taught school and was the school librarian at Bois d’ Arc Elementary for several years. After retiring from education, Helen developed an entrepreneurial spirit. She enjoyed finding treasures at auctions and sales and opened a collectibles booth. She became a collector of vintage quilts and attended the Paducah Quilt Show in Paducah, Kentucky for many years. She displayed and sold the vintage quilts, needlework and collectibles that she found throughout the year. She developed and sold the “Round to It” a personal quilting stand, shipping them internationally as well as nationally for a number of years. In her later years she enjoyed immensely her role as grandmother and great-grandmother and, at last count, had 17 surviving grandchildren, 35 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild. A celebration of her life will be held on Friday, March 10 at 2pm at Renew Church, Willard, MO. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund is set up at the church in her name.

Helen Marie Corlett

September 22, 1925 - February 14, 2023