Helen Eitel Rollins

YORK HARBOR - Helen Eitel Rollins, of York Harbor, Maine, died on June 6, 2009, surrounded by her family after a heroic struggle with a little known disease called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 30, 1924, Helen was the daughter of Paul T. and Louise F. Eitel. Helen attended Kentucky Home School for Girls, the University of Louisville, where she was a Pi Beta Phi sister, and Purdue University, where she studied aeronautic engineering. In 1942, as World War II began, Helen enlisted in the Navy as a WAVE and served in the War Department in Washington, DC, where she tracked weather for ships at sea. After the war, she worked for the Episcopal Rector at Harvard College; there she met her husband of 52 years, Douglas Rollins who pre-deceased her in 2000. They married and moved to Rollinsford, NH where they lived for 30 years before moving to York Harbor. A true community leader, she served on many boards including the Dover Children's Home, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, the Guild of Strawbery Banke, Piscataqua Garden Club, Old York Historical Society, York Hospital, St George's Church, and Trinity Church. She was a founding member of the Guild of Strawbery Banke, the York Public Library, and of the Archive of American Gardens at the Smithsonian Institution. Helen was active in the Republican Party, in conservation and historic preservation. For 40 years, she served as the Vice President of Tomhegan Woodlands, Inc. She is a former member of the Chilton Club, the Filson Club, and the York Harbor Reading Room.When most people were thinking of retiring, Helen championed computer database use in cataloguing a collection of glass plate negatives owned by the Garden Club of America. Her work there grew into a national project to preserve the history of notable gardens in America, now comprising more than 80,000 images and plans at the Smithsonian. Although the Archive was formally established in 1987 with the support of the Garden Club of America, Helen continued to serve throughout her life as the contact for landscape historians wishing to research or contribute to the Archive. Survivors include her brother Paul T. and Marilyn Eitel, of Hilton Head, SC, children, Douglas and Euretta (Buzzi) Rollins, of Milbank, SD, Helen Rollins Lord of York Harbor, ME, Paul and Carla Rollins of York, ME, Alexandra and Gordon Upton, of Boston, MA, Elizabeth and Frank Mauran of Providence, RI, and John Susan Rollins of Seattle, WA, nine grandchildren, Jesse, Catherine, Douglas IV, Ruth, Philip, Paul, Marion, Cecily and John, and a great-grandchildren, Colby and tbd.A Funeral Service will be held at 4 PM on Friday, June 12, at Trinity Church, 546 York Street, York Harbor. Interment will be in the First Parish Cemetery, York.Arrangements are under the direction of the Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home, 580 Main Street, Springvale.In lieu of flowers, Helen's family suggests gifts to her beloved Trinity Church or the York Public Library.To leave the family a message of condolence please use the "condolences" tab to the left.