Helen Elizabeth Whigham

Helen Elizabeth Whigham (Wilkie), age 79, went peacefully to be with the Lord on 9 April 2022 at the Del Sol Medical Hospital in El Paso, Texas.

Helen was born on 13 February 1943 in Houston, Texas to James Earl and Elizabeth (Elsie) Wilkie.

Helen graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Fine Arts and initially went on to teach in the Houston area elementary school system like her mother (no fun having your parent as a teacher…especially in the days of corporal punishment).  To pay the bills, she took up drafting and went on to have a long career working with architects and engineers putting their ideas onto paper and leaving her fingerprint on numerous cities throughout the United States.  All the while she enjoyed being outdoors, pursuing art and growing plants.

Helen was active in the community no matter where she lived.  While she lived here in the Tularosa Basin, she shared her talents in lapidary and silver smiting at the Alamogordo Senior Center.  She also belonged to the local rock hounding club and Otero Master Gardeners to help fuel her passion for the arts, being outside and sharing with others.

Her fellow master gardeners sent a condolence that embodies what she meant to them and the community: “She was an absolutely wonderful person, gracious and sincere and had a great love for every aspect of gardening.  She was helpful, understanding and patient with those who asked her for help or advice.  She will be greatly missed.”

Survivors include her son and daughter-in-law Lee Powell and Michelle Zeisset of La Luz NM, her sister-in-law Liz Wilkie of Huntington, Texas along with Liz’s extended family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, James and Elsie Willkie; and her brother Lawrence Alber Wilkie.

A memorial service for Helen will be held at her home among her friends, family, plants and art in Alamogordo, New Mexico.  The time and date are not set.

The Powell-Zeisset family has entrusted their loved one to the care of Scenic Chapel to prepare her for the afterlife.  To sign the online register book, please visit https://www.scenicchapel.com/

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Helen Elizabeth Whigham, please visit our floral store.