Formerly of Athol and Gloucester — Helen E. Atwood, 90, of Tarpon Springs, Fla., passed away July 10, 2014. The second child of George and Helen Grant of Athol, Mass., Helen graduated from Athol schools at 15 and from Mass State College, now UMass-Amherst, at 19. She married Milford W. Atwood upon graduation in 1943, and they had three children. That marriage ended in divorce. Helen was a dietician who ran the general’s dining room at the Pentagon during World War II, and served as the dietitian for an elementary school in Gill, Mass. Later, she earned a master’s degree in math education from Salem State College in Salem, Mass., and had a long career as a 7th grade math teacher, retiring in 1987 from Beverly Public Schools in Beverly, Mass. Helen spent more than 30 years as a hospital volunteer, first at Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester, and then at Helen Ellis Hospital in Tarpon Springs. A lifelong church member, Helen was clerk of her church in Massachusetts, served on a pastoral search committee, and taught Sunday school. In Tarpon Springs, she served on board committees for the Green Dolphin Condominium Association. Helen was devoted to her children and grandson, and spent her life making wonderful opportunities available to them. She is survived by her two daughters and their spouses, Fred and Carol Atwood-Lyon of Tarpon Springs and Dover, N.H., and Mark and Sally Hamilton of New Port Richey; and her son and his wife, Skip and Cindy Atwood of Tarpon Springs and Nobleboro, Maine. She is also survived by one grandchild, William Curtis Tawney of Tampa; her sister, Barbara Grant Donahue of Shrewsbury, Mass.; and three nieces. Helen was predeceased by her life partner, Doric J. Alviani of Wenham, Mass.; her brother, G. William Grant of Anaheim, Calif.; and her parents, George and Helen Grant, of Athol.
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