Helen Fox Glazer

BETHESDA, Md. -- Helen Coerver Fox Glazer died Friday, April 22, 2022.

She was born in Cape Girardeau Feb. 27, 1925.

Her maternal grandfather, William H. Coerver, was the mayor of Cape Girardeau from 1895 to 1901 and 1905 to 1907. Her father, Burwell Fox Jr., taught math and physics at Southeast Missouri State University for 41 years. Her mother, Helen Coerver Fox, was the first librarian of Cape Girardeau Public Library and served as library director from 1914 to 1918.

After graduating from the Southeast Missouri State Teachers College in 1945, Helen received a master's degree in education from the University of Iowa and was a school teacher in St. Louis County, Missouri.

Helen married Sidney Glazer in 1953 and then moved to Washington, D.C., in 1961.

She maintained a strong connection to Cape Girardeau through her family and in her lifelong friendships. In the 1970s, she wrote articles for the Southeast Missourian as a Washington correspondent. One of her articles was about the opening of the Naval Observatory for the vice president. When they gave a press tour of the vice president's mansion, Nelson Rockefeller saw Helen alone. When he learned she had missed the tour, he gave her a private tour.

Her articles were also published in Ladies Home Journal and Washington Post. Helen wrote a book about her experiences as an activities director at a Bethesda, Maryland, nursing home.

She loved the outdoors and served as a Girl Scout leader for many years. She was gifted with the ability to play the piano by ear. She played at St. Bartholomew's Parish for more than 40 years. She also shared her musical talents by playing the piano at local senior living facilities.

Her many adventures included a bicycle trip around Europe in 1949, hiking the entire Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in 1979, and canoeing the Missouri River. During her bicycle trip, she met Pope Pius XII at the Vatican.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband and parents; brother, Burwell C. Fox; sister, Mary Russell Fox; and niece, Kathleen Mary-Helen Fox Ness. Mary Fox was a well-known school teacher in Cape Girardeau and was the last person to be buried in Old Lorimier Cemetery.

Helen is survived by her five children, Abram (Meg Marshall), Jonathan (Christina Padgett), Rachel (Scott Stansberry), Saul (Melody) and Rebecca (Teo Moreno); 11 grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Burwell Fox Memorial Education Scholarship, c/o Southeast Missouri University Foundation, One University Plaza MS 7300, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 or by designating the scholarship at www.semo.edu/give.