Helen Elise Barker née Magnant, 73, died on Friday, December 15, 2023, at The Cottages at Clear Lake in League City, Texas. Helen was born in Belleville, IL at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital to Betty Lou Manning (Bressler) and Joseph Raymond Magnant. She lived in various cities throughout her life, including Belleville, IL; Texas City, TX; La Marque, TX; Dickinson, TX; Middletown, OH; Alvin, TX; Houston, TX; Newbury Park, CA; League City, TX; Dallas, TX; and Owensboro, KY.

Helen attended Alvin Community College where she was Founder and President of the Electronics Club, was named Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges (1986), and was a member of Phi Theta Kappa (Mu Epsilon Chapter). She received numerous awards and recognitions during her 11 years at Lockheed Martin where she worked on various aspects of NASA’s Space Program from bolts for the space shuttles to astronaut uniforms to parts for the International Space Station. Helen also raised two sons as a single mother. She cherished her dogs, was talented with all kinds of crafts, held a fascination for the family lineage, and was a huge supporter of the concerns of the Indigenous Peoples of our country, especially after discovering ancestors of Cherokee descent and learning the history of injustice towards them.

Helen is preceded in death by her parents; her stepmother, Cynthia Magnant;  aunts, Mary Jones and Flora Van Ness Riddle; uncle Johnny Manning; and ex-husbands, Charles Hill, Sr. and Gregory Barker. She is survived by her sons, John Raymond Barker and husband Jared R. Pike, and Jason Barker, both of New York City; sisters, Christine Salmon of Owensboro, KY and Marilyn Magnant-Brown and husband Jim Brown of Humble, TX; brothers, James Magnant of League City, TX, and Ray Magnant of Dickinson, TX;  uncle, Bobby Manning of Alvin, TX; aunt, Diane Doty of Dickinson, TX; ex-sister-in-law, Pamela Barker of Columbia, SC; and many wonderful cousins. 

A memorial to celebrate her life will be held, on Wednesday, December 27, 2023. For more information, visit johnraymondbarker.com/mom.  Instead of flowers, donations may be made to the Cherokee Historical Society in Cherokee Nation, OK, the Houston Cultural Society for the Cherokee, or a similar charity that benefits the plights of the Indigenous Peoples of the United States of America.