Matthews,

Helen Jewel Cannady Porter Barnes, 89, formerly of Sampson County, died Thursday, September 12, 2024 at her home.

The funeral service will be held at 3 PM, Saturday, September 14th at Elizabeth Baptist Church with Rev. John Hobbs officiating.  Interment will follow in the church cemetery.  The family will receive friends at the church one hour before the funeral.

Helen was born November 1, 1934, in Sampson County to Franklin and Ozelle Cannady.  She was a proud grandmother, caretaker, blueberry farmer, and a member of Beard’s Chapel Baptist Church. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her son Bennie Ray Porter, her daughter Cynthia Carol Porter, her brother Leonidas Cannady, her sisters Edna Sinclair, Hilda Brown, Margaret Crumpler, and Nell Honrine, her husbands, Benny Porter and WW Barnes Sr., and her grandson, Rodney Ray Porter. 

Helen lives on through her daughter, Cathy O’Bday (Robert); four grandchildren, Rhonda Porter Abercrombie (Chris), Savannah Porter Driggers, Reagan O’Bday, and Chase O’Bday; several great-grandchildren; and her brother Roy Cannady (Jewel), as well as many other loving extended family members and friends, including her beloved companion, Teddy. 

Helen loved long phone calls with friends and family, checking the mail, singing, sharing stories of her past, and keeping everyone she encountered well-fed - especially her daughter, grandchildren, and their friends, who she treated as her own.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.crumpler-honeycutt.com.