Helen G Riley

SKIPPERVILLE…Mrs. Helen Garner Riley, of Skipperville, passed away peacefully Saturday, July 12, 2025, at her home. She was 87.

Memorial services will be held at 4:00 p.m. Saturday July 19th at Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Tim Sewell officiating assisted by the Reverend Jean Watson and Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends from 3:00 until 4:00 P.M. Saturday afternoon at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to the church or charity of your choice.

Helen was born October 5, 1937, to Wilmer and Ocie Baker Garner in Coffee County. From childhood she lived her life and raised her family in Dale County. She graduated from Dale County High School in 1955. She worked in the administrative office at George W. Long School and in the business office of Dale Medical Center while her children were in school. She delighted in spending her life as a devoted wife and mother making a home for her family. She was an excellent cook. Her talent was treasured by her family, friends and neighbors. Helen was a member of Morgan Baptist Church having attended Skipperville Methodist Church as a child and young adult. She was one of Morgan’s oldest members and served as Sunday school teacher, pianist, and organist. Helen was an avid gardener, always happy when working with her flowers, fruits, and vegetables. She loved nature and all animals and never tired of the majesty of the heavens.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Charles “Buddy” in 2016, and her youngest son, Charles Mark in 1991, sisters, Lyle Childs in 2005, and Lurelle Watson in 2021, and her son-in-law, James Katsos in 2005.

Survivors include her daughter, Sharon Riley Katsos (Kevin) of Skipperville; son, Hubert Kent Riley of Skipperville; granddaughter, Eleni Riley Katsos Calderon (Carlos) of Leesburg, Virginia; great-grandsons, Leonardo Katsos Calderon, Lucas James Calderon, and great-granddaughter Lena Aminta Calderon also of Leesburg, Virginia; one sister, Rena Thompson of Alpine, and one sister-in-law, Sarah Helen Phillips of Prattville. She also leaves much-loved nieces, nephews, and their children and grandchildren.

The family would like to express their deep appreciation for every person who touched Helen's life in so many different ways on her journey home. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5.