Helen Sykes

Helen Marie Sykes Holt was born on November 11, 1930, and she passed away quietly on November 11, 2021. Thus, the day to celebrate her birth is now a day to celebrate her meeting Jesus. She was born in Poteau, Oklahoma, to hardworking parents Lee Terrill Sykes and Mary Grace Rupe Sykes. Helen was the second of the couple’s six children. The family lived in southeastern Oklahoma all of her young life, with the exception of a short move to Arizona where Lee had been promised work that did not materialize. In 1946, when Helen was 15, the family moved to Savanna, Oklahoma. It was there, on the first day of school, that she met LeRoy Holt. They quickly became sweethearts, and on June 19, 1948, they were married in McAlester, Oklahoma. LeRoy was serving in the U.S. Air Force at the time, so the new couple lived on several Air Force bases for the next few years. They lived in Bioxi, Mississippi, Enid, Oklahoma, and Urbana, Illinois. When their years with the service ended, they moved their small family, which now included two little girls, Judy and Janice, to Bristow, Oklahoma. Helen stayed at home and took care of the house and children while LeRoy worked at driving a Greyhound bus, then a long-haul truck. The family lived in Bristow for about six years. During that time, Joy was born. Around 1962, LeRoy and Helen moved to Sapulpa, where they were excited to finally buy their own home and to welcome Libbie into the family. He continued to drive a truck until his retirement, after which he still wanted to be around trucks and worked for a local trucking company until he passed away in 1995. Helen continued be an active and creative homemaker for her children and grandchildren until 2016, when she moved to an assisted-living facility. She was a devout Christian and attended the Church of Christ all her life. Helen was preceded in death by her husband LeRoy, her parents, brother Leon Sykes, sisters Marjorie Owens and Linda Hance. She is survived by her children: Judith and husband David Block, Janice and husband John Terry, Joy Shields, and Libbie Young: her grandchildren: Audra and husband Kevin Mouser, Jason and wife Janna Block, Amy and husband Greg Wright, Andrew and wife Casey Terry, Erik and wife Jessica Block, Wendi Rollings and husband William Worley, Katie and husband Shawn Chronister, Brianna Young-Baker, and Julian Young; fifteen great-grandchildren, and six great-great grandchildren; sister Betty Jo Sykes and brother Kenneth Sykes.