Helen Dellinger

Helen Carolyn Overcash Dellinger, age 86, of Cherryville, passed away Thursday, May 26, 2022, at Peak Resources.

Helen was born during the Great Depression to Clark Roland and Sadie Helms Overcash of Kannapolis, North Carolina.  Her home church was Midway United Methodist Church.  She excelled in school and won a scholarship to Pfeiffer College (now University) in Misenheimer, North Carolina and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Christian Education.  After graduation, Helen spent two years working in western Kentucky as home missionary for the Methodist Church.  She then accepted a position as the first Director of Christian Education at First United Methodist Church in Cherryville where she met her future husband, Ben Robert Dellinger, and his two daughters, Benetta and Cynthia.  She and Mr. Dellinger married in 1962 and moved to his home in the Houser’s Pines neighborhood of Cherryville where she lived until her death.  After her marriage, Helen attended Lenoir Rhyne College to complete the requirements for a teaching certificate and taught second grade at Tryon Elementary School in Gaston County for 20 years.  After retiring from the public schools, Helen was an assistant teacher at the pre-school at First United Methodist Church in Cherryville where she also sang alto in the choir and played hand bells.  She was a member of United Methodist for more than 40 years.  “Miss Helen,” as her fans knew her, was an enthusiastic reader and knitter.

Besides her daughters, Benetta Dunning of New York City and Cynthia Swisher of Talking Rock, Georgia, Helen is survived by two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, as well as by her sister, Mrs. Mildred Davidson of Kannapolis, NC.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Ben Robert Dellinger; two brothers and one sister.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at First United Methodist Church with Rev. Zack Christy officiating.  Burial will follow at City Memorial Cemetery.  The family will receive friends from 1:00 to 1:45 PM prior to the service at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to First United Methodist Church Kingdom Kids Preschool at 601 N Pink St, Cherryville, NC 28021.

Condolences may be made to www.carpenterporter.com