Helen Story McKinney

Helen Story McKinney, 87, of 559 School Road, Asheville, died Thursday, June 17, 2004, at Asheville Health Care. A native of Buncombe County, she was a daughter of the late Romula and Alice Bartlett Story and was also preceded in death by her husband, Claude M. McKinney, who died in 1986. She was retired with 25 years of service from Vanderbilt Shirt Company and was a member of West Asheville Church of God. A devoted mother and grandmother, she is survived by three daughters, Naomi Sheldon and her husband Steve of Swannanoa, Rachel Smith and Martha Goodman of Skyland; two sons, Ray McKinney and his wife Nora and Ernest Helton and his wife Betty, all of Skyland; twenty-eight grandchildren; fifty-three great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be 2:00 pm Sunday at Swannanoa Valley Independent Baptist Church with the Reverend Lewis Bartlett officiating. Burial will follow at Sky View Memorial Park. Pallbearers will be Dwayne Helton, Sonny Smith, David Taylor, Jr., Philip Hensley, Jeff Goodman, Michael Goodman, and Caleb McKinney. Her family will receive friends from 7:00-8:30 pm Saturday at Groce Funeral Home on Patton Avenue.