Mary Helen Dykes Hartley

Mary Helen Johnson Dykes Hartley, formerly of Americus, Georgia died June 16, 2015, in Atlanta where had resided for the past 12 years. She was born on October 10, 1920 in Sumter County, Georgia, the only child of Roy Celectrice Johnson and Mary Belle Greene Johnson both of Americus. She married Maurice ‘Buddy’ Dykes on November 15, 1941 in Americus while he was serving as a Naval Aviator. He preceded her in death on May 21, 1975. She remarried in October of 1989 to Walter George Hartley, Jr. of Dallas, Texas who preceded her in death on January 11, 1996 She is survived by her children Helen Dykes Cooper of Long Boat Key, Florida, Delia Dykes Owens of Moyie Springs, Idaho, Robert Roy ‘Bobby’ Dykes of Stone Mountain, Georgia, Lee Hawkins Dykes of Austin, Texas and her Grandchildren: Frederick E. Cooper, Jr. of Vero Beach, Florida, Joseph Johnson Cooper of Nashville, Tennessee, Samuel Hawkins Dykes of Corvallis, Oregon, Delia Johnson Dykes of Denver, Colorado and Anne Teague Dykes of Austin, Texas, and Great Grandchildren: Preston, Carter and Raleigh Cooper of Vero Beach, Florida, Sam and Charlotte Cooper of Nashville, Tennessee and by many loving nieces and nephews. Mary Helen, as she was affectionately known, attended Georgia South Western University and the University of Georgia, Athens, where she studied math, and was a member of the Miss Pandora Court. She volunteered for the WWII war effort while her husband, Maurice, was serving in the South Pacific. She also volunteered at Archbald Hospital and the Methodist Church in Thomasville. Mary Helen was an avid adventurer. When she was 60 years old, she assisted with lion research in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana, Africa, after traveling by freighter across the Atlantic Ocean and overland over southern Africa. She observed elephants in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia when she was 75 years old. She sailed into the waters of the Arctic Ocean and traveled by camel into the Sahara Desert. She attended a special service in China to honor the American pilots who protected regions of that country. Mary Helen will long be remembered for her devotion to her family, her thoughtfulness, love of nature, and her wonderful sense of humor. She was almost always wearing a smile. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to St. Timothy United Methodist Church, 5365 Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain, GA 30083; or to The Owens Foundation for Wildlife Conservation, P.O. Box 870530, Stone Mountain, GA 30087 or online at http://owens-foundation.org/ To sign our online guestbook and express your condolences to the family, please visit www.hancockfuneralhomeinc.com Hancock Funeral Home, 427 S. Lee St., is honored to be entrusted with these arrangements for Mrs. Mary Helen Johnson Dykes Hartley.