Helen Louise Toney Kendrick

Helen Louise Toney Kendrick, age 96, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, died on June 6, 2025.

Born on August 21, 1928, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Helen graduated from Saint Joseph Nursing School and moved to Fort Walton Beach in 1951. She worked as a registered nurse for Dr. Robert Maxon at the Magnolia Clinic and remained proud of her nursing vocation throughout her life. Yet, she chose to leave that profession to embrace what she considered her highest calling: being a devoted wife to Jim Kendrick and a loving mother to Paul and Russell. She lived this vocation with unwavering dedication, deep patience, great passion, and abiding love.

Helen was an active member of numerous local organizations, most notably Saint Simon’s on-the-Sound Episcopal Church, where she served faithfully in many capacities; especially through her longstanding and meaningful ministry with the Altar Guild.

Helen was known for her feisty spirit, her joy in spending time with dear friends, and her love of travel; especially adventures shared with her ‘Jimmy’ and close companions to faraway places like Egypt, Spain, and Greece. She had a fierce devotion to her family and to Auburn football. Even as dementia clouded her mind in these last years, she would still light up at the sound of the Auburn fight song, “War Eagle.”

Helen is survived by her sons, Russell Kendrick (Robin) and Paul Kendrick (Michelle); and her grandchildren, Aaron Kendrick, Hannah Oakes (Logan), and Emily Kendrick.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on June 20, 2025 at Saint Simon’s on-the-Sound Episcopal Church with a reception following in the parish hall. The interment of ashes will take place at another date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Saint Simon’s on-the-Sound Episcopal Church.