After living a full ninety- four years, Helen Pou Turner, departed this earth on December 12, 2019. She was mother, sister, and friend to a myriad of people whose lives were richer for knowing her. Her wit, intelligence, and youthful outlook endeared her to everyone right up to the last minute.

Helen was born in Shreveport on November 5, 1925 to Gertrude Moreland Pou and Dr. John Gray Pou. She grew up in Shreveport, graduated from Byrd High School, and went on to Denver Bible College and Centenary College. She was married twice. Only a few years ago, Helen had a checkup and was filling out the paperwork,. She came to the line that said, "Single, Married, Divorced, or Widowed," and she checked, "All of the above."

After being an integral part of familiar Shreveport businesses of the day, including working for Burton Heard and Jett Drilling, Helen worked for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company for many years, advancing as far as any woman in the insurance field, becoming an office manager. The company moved her from Shreveport to Memphis, TN, then to Norfolk, VA, then to Clifton, NJ, where she achieved her peak with Mass. Mutual, serving as both agency office manager and company-wide troubleshooter, with the official company designation of "tiger." She returned to Shreveport in the 1980s to become Vice President of Lee National Life Insurance and to care for her mother, who was by that time in decline.

Helen was an avid reader, even keeping a card catalog of all the books she had read, including ratings, loved playing poker and bridge, working crossword puzzles, watching tennis, going to the horse races, and listening to opera and classical music, and even more recently, enjoying her IPAD. She was a great animal lover, particularly of dogs. One of her favorite quotes was from the famous poem by John Donne: "…each man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind…" Helen applied this saying to every living creature, not just people. Here are just a few of Helen's favorite sayings: "Be grateful for what you have, not ungrateful for what you have not" "It's 5:00 somewhere!" "You're cruising for a bruising!" "Morning glory!" "Don't judge a man until you have walked around in his shoes" "I'm proud of you for trying even if you don't win" "Do all with excellence" "I'm going to work / To earn the money / To buy the tickets / To ride the rides"

Helen's passion for life was contagious. She taught her children, "All men are created equal. You are no better than anyone, but no one is better than you." Here's a quote from her son describing Helen: "She dominates any room she enters. A beautiful woman, five feet six inches in height, she looks those who speak to her in the eye, listens to what they say, usually with friendly interest, usually understands what is being said, and rarely agrees with it." Highly intelligent and well read, Helen could argue almost any point. Her vivaciousness and love of life can be summed up in the first verse of one of her favorite poems by William Blake: To see the world in a grain of sand / And heaven in a wild flower / Hold infinity in the palm of your hand / And eternity in an hour.

Helen is survived by her sister, Mildred Pou, her two children, Heloise Turner Tompkins, married to Thomas Henry Tompkins and Arthur Ferguson Shuey, III (Trey). Her grandchildren are Laura Tompkins Brown, Catherine Tompkins and Tom Tompkins II, all of Shreveport and Caelan Walker of Fredericksburg, Virginia. She has numerous great grandchildren and one great great grandson. She is predeceased by her parents, her sister Johnette Pou Young, her brother, Dr. Jack Pou, and both her husbands, Lloyd Hughes Turner and Arthur Ferguson Shuey II. A memorial service will be held at Broadmoor Baptist Church chapel on January 11, 2020 at 10:00 AM. Her hospice chaplain, Dana Casey, will be officiating. Please make donations to Broadmoor Baptist Church, Shreveport, LA.

The family would like to give special thanks to Willis Knighton Hospice whose care reached far beyond physical. Each individual became a part of our family and Helen's face would light up every time there was a visit, always entertaining the visitor with all her lifetime stories.

When asked to sum up life in three words, Helen said, "Life is good." The light that was Helen's can never be put out, but lives on in her lineage, in memories and in hearts. She looked forward to and sought new experiences every day. Now she has experienced the last line in John McGhee's poem, "Flight," another of her favorites. She has reached out, and touched the face of God.