Helen S. Budd of Wilmington, DE died on Sunday 02/05/2023 while a resident of Lodge Lane Memory Care facility. She was 94 years old.
She was the third child of Joseph P. and Mary G. Diviney and was born and raised in Kennett Square, PA attended St. Patrick’s School and graduated from Kennett High School. After high school she attended Goldey-Beacom College and received a certificate as a certified secretary.
Helen was very energetic and fortunate in her life. In 1950, she married her first husband, William “Bill” A. Shields (one of the owners and operators of Shields Lumber & Coal Co. in Greenville, DE) and raised her only child, William “Bill” D. Shields. “Big Bill” died unexpectedly in 1976.Then in 1991 she remarried Hiram “Hi” E. Budd and remained happily married for 20 years until his death in 2011 after a four year bout with cancer.
She was predeceased by both of her parents as well as her sister, Mary Diviney Leo Paige, her brother, E. Joseph “Brud” Diviney and her granddaughter, Kristen Jackson. She is survived by her son, Bill Shields, and his wife Kathy as well as her grandson, Brian Shields, grandson, Mike Ven Douern, and great-grandson, Delano Shields in addition to her cousin Connie Whalen of Clifton Forge, VA. She also has many nieces and nephews.
During her adult work career, Helen started out as a lab technician at the Hercules Corporation but then acquired a taste for politics. She became the first full time Office Manager/Secretary of the Republican Party of the State of Delaware in 1953 and maintained that position until 1973. She assisted on countless campaigns and would delight in relating stories of how each politician helped to shape Delaware into the state that it had become. In 1976, after the death of her husband Bill Shields, she was employed by the DuPont Company in Wilmington, DE working at both Barley Mill Plaza and Chestnut Run. She retired after 15 years of excellent service.
In her retirement years, Helen became a traveler. In addition to her house in Wilmington, she bought and maintained a house in Forksville, PA at the top of the tallest mountain. You could see woods and fields for 20 miles from the front porch. The nearest town had a population of 350. It became a family favorite to go “up to the mountains” on weekends and for extended weekends. Then, some years afterwards, she bought a house in North Ft. Myers with her brother and sister as they had all lost their spouses. Eventually each of the three found new spouses, sold the 5,000 SFT home on the water and bought separate houses in the surrounding area.
Helen and Hi Budd settled in Punta Gorda, FL. She loved her ability to spend 5 months out of the year in FL and 7 months out of the year in PA. Then they traveled. Helen & Hi traveled nearly the entire United States together and also Alaska. They enjoyed retirement together. Then a year after she lost her husband, Hi, she came back to Wilmington, DE into treatment facilities which aided her as her health failed and dementia began. She was officially diagnosed with dementia in 2017 and lost her battle with it this past Sunday. She died peacefully in her sleep.
The memorial service will be held at 12:00 at McCrery & Harra Funeral Homes at 3924 Concord Pike in Wilmington, DE on Friday 02/10/2023 with visitation from 11:00 am– 12:00. Interment will be held privately.
The family suggests that any memorial contributions be directed to your favorite charity in her name.
For online condolences visit: www.mccreryandharra.com
