M rs. Mary Anne Helms of Princeton, NJ passed away peacefully, at Penn Medicine Medical Center at Plainsboro, on May 6, 2021 at age 82.

Mary Anne was born in Jersey City, NJ in November 1938 to her parents Anne Miriam and John Hehir.  Both parents were retired New York City school teachers who moved to Princeton in 1976.  Mary Anne grew up on Long Island and graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead, New York.  She then enrolled in Georgian Court College in New Jersey and graduated from Newton College of the Sacred Heart in Newton, MA in 1960.

She spent the summer after graduation on a student tour of Europe.  Following a short stint as an elementary school teacher, she moved to Manhattan.  She worked on Robert F. Kennedy's senatorial campaign and moved to Washington, D.C. when he was elected.  She moved back to Manhattan, after a short stay in Washington, D.C. and went into the design business.

In 1976, she moved to Princeton to live with her parents.  In 1982, she met and married Charles B. Helms of Princeton.  He died late in 1984.  In the 1990's she started a gift shop on Nassau Street, A Little Bit of What You Fancy.  After the closure of the shop, she focused her energies on the care of her mother who passed away in 2003.

She then moved to Middletown, Rhode Island to be near her friends from Newton College.  In 2005, she moved back to Princeton where she resided until her demise.

Predeceased by her parents, she is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, John J. Hehir, Jr. and Roswitha, of Skillman, NJ, a niece Angelique Michelle Loveday of Jacksonville, FL, a nephew John J. Hehir, III of Dallas, TX and grandniece Jennifer Loveday Rowley and grandnephew, Nicholas Loveday, both of Jacksonville, FL.

A funeral mass at St. Paul Church, Princeton, NJ was held Monday, May 10, 2021 followed by  burial in St. Paul Church Cemetery.

Memorial contributions, in her memory, to Montgomery Township EMS, PO Box 105, Belle Mead, NJ 08502 are appreciated.