Helen Thompson McWhorter who lived much of her life in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, died Friday, April 24, 2020 at the age of 104 of natural causes in Gainesville, Georgia. Helen was born January 26, 1916 in Dallas, Texas. Her parents, Joseph Irving and Mabel Avery Thompson returned to Hattiesburg with Helen and her brother, Joe Avery Thompson, when she was seven. Her father was a long-time executive of J.J. Newman Lumber Company. She married her Hattiesburg High School classmate (Class of1932), Alvin Maurice McWhorter, in July 1938, and they had three children: Joe Maurice “Mike,” a neurosurgeon; Laurence S. “Larry,” a lawyer; and Ann, a loving daughter. She is predeceased by her parents, husband, brother, son Mike, daughter-in-law Barbara, and grandson, Christopher Wilson. Maurice was a long- time investment counselor for Investors Diversified Services, later Ameriprise. Helen was an accomplished musician and won numerous piano competitions as a young girl. She was the pianist at First Baptist Church when it was located on Buschman Street and became the organist when the church moved to West Pine Street in 1953, where she served for 35 years until she retired in 1989. In 1955 Dr. Jack Lyall asked her to substitute in the Music Department at William Carey College for a teacher who had become ill. Her brief substitution became a long-term enjoyment as she taught music at Carey for 25 years. She taught organ, piano, and music theory. She particularly loved teaching music appreciation to students who came from all parts of the college, not just the Music Department, and she had wonderful times accompanying the Carey Chorale on dozens of tours. The Helen T. McWhorter Piano Lab was dedicated in the Carey Music Department in January 1999. Following her graduation from Hattiesburg High, she studied at the Cincinnati College of Music, graduating in 1936 after three years of study. She then won a fellowship to Louisiana State University where she studied interior design briefly, but left LSU to marry Maurice before she finished that degree. She earned a Master of Music Degree from Mississippi Southern College in 1959. Helen played the piano for the weekly meetings of the Hattiesburg Rotary Club beginning in 1963 and in 1988 became the first female member of the club when Rotary International announced that women could hold membership. She also received the Hannah Award as Rotarian of the year in the Hattiesburg Club, and in 1977 was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International. Helen loved her church, family, music, and people. She was a good friend to many, and she never met a party that she didn’t like. She was always ready to go. She is survived by her son Larry (Nancy) McWhorter of Isle of Palms, SC and daughter, Ann (Rod Wilson) of Hoschton, GA; nine grandchildren; and twenty-three great-grandchildren (at last count). Because of the COVID- 19 pandemic she will be cremated and a memorial service will be planned in the future. She loved the Christopher Wilson Scholarship Fund at William Carey University and memorials may be directed to it in lieu of flowers.