HELEN NEILL

OCTOBER 14, 1931 - APRIL 18, 2001

Loved by a Town

The Town of Johnson extends to Helen's husband Ken, and their children David, Shawn, and Kevin our sincerest sympathy with the recent loss of your wife/mother, and also to the rest of Helen's family and numerous friends. If it may bring any consolation to you, please know that your loss is shared, by a Town.

Helen served the Town for over thirty years, the final twelve years as Town Clerk and Treasurer. A Town Clerk is a person that touches all of us at monumental times in our lives, from cradle to grave. When we are born, our birth certificate is filed with the Town Clerk, when we marry our marriage license is filed with the Town Clerk, when we buy our home the deed is recorded with the Town Clerk, and when we die our death certificate is filed with the Town Clerk. Additionally the Town Clerk manages all of the Town moneys. A huge burden of responsibilities rests on the shoulders of a Town Clerk, these were all burdens Helen carried, and excelled with.

Helen was very competent and discharged her duties with a serious disposition and respect for the job she was charged with. The wisdom she gained and the experiences she witnessed made for her to be sought out for advise from all others that served the community.

Many years ago I was the Treasurer on the Johnson Fire Department, this was when I started to get to know Helen as more then a person whom I handed over my tax payments, or paid my light bill to. I learned right off, as I am sure any officer who has served this Johnson Community, when you were doing something Helen did not approve of, this woman behind the desk piled up with (as appeared to the untrained eye) disorganized papers, could give you a look over the top of her glasses that would make a grown man wince, and cause you to rethink what you have planned.

When I was a member of the Fire Department, one day I was escorting a State Official inspecting apartment buildings located in the Town. At some point we went to see Helen to get addresses for the landlords. Every name he gave, was followed with the address from Helen by memory. The State fellow asked a couple of times if she was sure, to what Helen confidently replied "yes". When a name was given for a landlord who lived out of Town, Helen followed with the address but asked one of the other women to look it up for certainty. Once again Helen was correct. To say I was impressed is an understatement, but the State fellow was completely flabbergasted. After we left the office, he remarked to me how impressed he was with the community knowledge our Town Clerk possessed. I smugly replied with a question "All Town Clerk's are not like Helen"?

Helen announced to the SelectBoard she would not be seeking reelection, we were very concerned, who would, who could replace Helen. We pulled her shoes off, we had a size 20 shoe in front of us, there was nobody in the Town who could fill those shoes.

What we did not know, and Helen's wisdom understood, the Town would go on without her. Helen was not the first Town Clerk, nor was she the last. Helen's wisdom helped us to see the capacity of a Town could be compared to a pail of water with our fingers in the water. When Helen pulled her finger out, the water followed in to erase any hole left, and Helen's contributions would be picked up and carried on by others. The true impact of Helen removing her finger was the drop in the water level of that pail, Helen had a great big finger and when she pulled out her finger the water level dropped significantly, the Towns Capacity shall be forever reduced.

The Town of Johnson thanks the family for the commitment Helen provided with your acceptance, and appreciation for the time you shared your wife, your mother so she could serve this community for over thirty years.

Eric T. Osgood

Chairman of SelectBoard

Johnson, Vermont