Helen Kenerson Baughman, thoroughly Scottish at heart, spent the first three years of her life in a shipbuilding town in northern Scotland before her family moved to the United States. While Helen might have left Scotland at an early age, Scotland never left her. She remained quite proud of her Scottish heritage, returning several times to visit far flung relatives, who lovingly called her “Nelly.”  

Not all of her family still lived in Scotland, though. Back in the Detroit area, she had scores of cousins, such a large group that they would rotate hosting family events. Sometimes the Detroit cousins would plan events, and other times it was up to the “Windsor Ones” to host everyone. At any of these family gatherings, Helen could be heard laughing from across the room, joking around with some relative or another, all the while making hilarious faces. You could always tell what she was thinking by the look on her expressive face, a trait that some people say her daughter inherited.

There is a Scottish phrase: "Guid gear comes in sma' bulk," which means, good things come in small packages. This is Helen. She might never have reached even five feet tall, but she held an enormous personality within her tiny frame.  In fact, some say that she was born to have a good time. She was always the life of the party and perpetually active. Perhaps owing to her heritage, like any good Scotswoman, she loved to golf, and would seize any opportunity to do so. When she wasn’t on the links, she enjoyed playing bridge with her tight community of friends from the Jaycees. Everywhere she went, she was surrounded by people she loved and who loved her. In this way, she lived an exceptional life.

Helen had the rare privilege to love and be loved by not one, but two extraordinary men during her life. She met her first husband, Allan, at Mackenzie High School in Detroit, where they fell in love. Their affection grew and their love story continued as they wrote to each other regularly when Allan was sent overseas to fight in World War II.  And when he returned, their love could not wait any longer: they promptly got married and started a 40-year journey together, traveling, laughing, and building a family with their three wonderful and beautiful children, Nancy, David, and Scott.  

Some time after Allan passed away, one of Helen’s friends in Florida introduced her to a generous and caring man named Jack. Helen and Jack hit it off quickly and eventually got married. Jack became an integral part of the family, traveling with Helen not only between their homes in Michigan and Florida, but also, of course, back to her dearest Scotland. Helen's family accepted him as one of their own, and the feeling was certainly mutual. When they weren’t golfing and traveling, Helen and Jack would take every opportunity to visit with Helen’s seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. For Helen, family was everything.

Throughout her life, no matter what, Helen always kept her faith. While in Michigan, she attended Farmington Presbyterian or Farmington Methodist every Sunday. And when she started spending more time in Florida, she found a church there that welcomed her with open arms. That's no great surprise, because everyone welcomed Helen with open arms.

All through her life, Helen nurtured a passion for music. At weddings, she was always the first on the dance floor, especially when the DJ played oldies from her youth, or one of her newer favorites, like Josh Groban. In fact, her love of music lasted well into her later years. For a recent Christmas gift, Nancy brought her ninety-year-old mother to see another of her favorites, Andrea Bocelli, live at Joe Louis Arena. They braved the traffic and crowds to enjoy this concert together, and Helen sat rapt through the entire show, despite Nancy warning her to get up and stretch occasionally. Sure, the usher had to help her out of her seat at the end because she hadn’t listened to Nancy, but Helen enjoyed every moment, every note, of that concert. She was, as she certainly is now, in heaven.

There is another Scottish proverb unto which Helen lived her life. It is: "you're a long time deid." Literally, it means "You're a long time dead," but figuratively, it means, enjoy your life, enjoy yourself, and enjoy your family and friends, because once you're gone, you won't have the chance. And without a doubt, Helen did this very thing, living and loving and laughing daily, surrounding herself with family and friends. Certainly, hers is a life very well lived.

Lovingly written by Beloved.