ROCKLAND – Helen M. Staples, 83, died Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at the Sussman House in Rockport.

Born in Belfast, October 18, 1933, she was the daughter of Roland and Ethel Berry Hanson. Raised in Camden, she attended school there.

On August 17, 1950 Helen married Russell ‘Sonny’ Staples in Rockport. The couple moved to Fort Lauderdale, FL in 1960. There Helen was employed as a Quality Control Inspector at Motorola Corporation.

Following the death of her husband in 1995, Helen returned to West Rockport. For the last several years she lived at Stella Maris House in Rockland, where she enjoyed many friends. Helen enjoyed dancing and bowling. While in Florida, she bowled on the Motorola League. She loved playing card games with her sisters-in-law and had a great sense of humor. She attended the West Rockport Baptist Church.

Other than her parents and husband Helen was pre-deceased by a son-in-law David Dillman. She is survived by her children, Allan M. Staples and his wife Michele of Port Orange, FL; Robin W. Staples and his wife Peggy of Port St. Lucie, FL, Terry L. Dillman of Vero Beach, FL; brother Robert Hanson of Washington; sister Caroline Rauch of Newark, Ohio; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Royce and Dorothy Carroll of West Rockport; grandchildren, Patricia Esser and her husband Jim, Sharon and Brad Winokur, and Kari Menhennett; great-grandchildren, Jett, Max, Aubbriana and Jazlyn; her partner Dana Cunningham, as well as several nieces and nephews.

Friends and relatives are invited to visit from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., Friday, December 9th at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland, where a funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, December 10th. Interment will follow at SeaView Cemetery, Rockport.

Memorial donations may be made to the Sussman House, c/o PenBay Healthcare, 11 White Street, Rockland, ME 04841.