Helen Peacock Hamby

Helen Peacock Hamby, 97, passed away peacefully in her sleep at home on Hilton Head Island Wednesday August 27th, 2025. She was preceded in death by her husband, Wade D. Hamby.

Helen was born in Bacup, England in 1928.  It was during World War 2 when her dedication to family took root.  As the oldest of six children, she was responsible for taking care of her four brothers and sister, while her mother, Dora, worked.  She knit scarves, mittens, and balaclavas for the soldiers, carried a gas mask to school, and had very poignant stories about troop movement in the days preceding D-Day.

After the war, Helen studied food science and teaching in Liverpool, earning a bachelor’s degree. She was a respected teacher who was appreciated by her students for the individual attention she gave them while treating everyone fairly.  At the age of 25 she took the bold step of emigrating, by herself, to the United States, settling in Chicago.  She found employment working for Quaker Oats in product development and quality control which took advantage of her discerning palate. 

Helen met Wade at a party. It took him several months to call, but once they went out, they were married within six weeks. It was a whirlwind courtship that culminated in a marriage of 60 years and a lifetime devoted to family. She raised their three sons Matthew, James, and David in northern Illinois with a firm but loving hand. After the last of the three graduated from college, Helen and Wade retired, moving to Hilton Head Island in 1988. 

Helen’s next thirty years were spent traveling the world and sharing time with her eight grandchildren.  In between trips to New Zealand, St. Petersburg, the Amazon, Alaska, Hawaii, Nova Scotia, Spain, and the Panama Canal, Helen would help Matthew and his wife Sharon who lived in the area take care of their children Kristin and Christian. She would also travel regularly to Vienna, Virginia to visit James and his wife Suzanne and spend time with their children Cody, Lindsey, Luke, and Zachary. In retirement, she was able to cultivate a loving bond with her step-daughter Laurie and her two children Rorie and Sika, traveling to see them in Asheville, North Carolina. Her visits to New York City to see David and his partner Laura were spent trying different restaurants and enjoying each other’s company. Helen’s grandson Zachary and his wife Patrycja blessed her with her only great-grandchild, Jacob, two weeks before her passing.

Helen was a force of strength, kindness and love. She was a devout Christian, a creative and flexible thinker who was an early adopter of online banking, and an enthusiastic texter into her 90’s.  Her commitment to family was steadfast.  Helen wove herself into the fabric of her family’s hearts. While her ceaseless caring, selflessness, intensity, humor, and treasured warm smile will be missed, her example of how to live and a lifetime of cherished memories will endure.