Women of Knox - Monthly Biography Feature

There is an intense sparkle to Helen Bledsoe, an unique blend of relishing the past, savoring the present and anticipating what is to come.

Helen was born in Manville, NJ. A small industrial town settled by immigrants from various European countries. Helen’s family came from Hungary to join the workers at the John Manville Corporation. After growing up in Manville, Helen went to New Jersey State Teacher’s College in Trenton. Upon graduation she went back to Manville to teach 2nd and 3rd graders. A job she loved until the outbreak of World War II.

Hearing the recruiters call for young women to join the armed forces, and the lure of travel and adventure, Helen enlisted in the WAVES.

Helen & Ferris Bledsoe - 1945

I gave up my teaching career and joined the WAVES, she explained. After basic training at Hunter College in New York. I was assigned to Cape May, NJ, to the Hydrographic Office.

Although she ended up back in New Jersey, that turned out to be just fine, because there I met Lt. Ferris Bledsoe, who had just returned from the Pacific. It was love at first sight, she said with a smile. It was not only love at first sight; it was also a world wind courtship. They met in February and were married in June. The marriage lasted 47 years until Ferris' death in 1992.

Ferris and Helen came to the Washington area after the war to be near Ferris' brother. They had one son, Gary, who lives in Chicago, Ill.

We moved to Broyhill Park from Fairlington in 1954. We started looking for a church at that time. Ferris was Baptist and I was from the Reformed Church, so we compromised and joined Knox Presbyterian, she laughed.

The Bledsoe Family home in Broyhill Park since 1954

Helen has always been active at Knox. She taught Sunday School and was in charge of the Primary Department for several years. She has been on the Fellowship, Communion, and newsletter committees-- and, of course, the clothing closet where she volunteered weekly until it's recent move.

I really enjoyed working in the clothing closet, especially dealing with immigrant clients who were different from the immigrants I had grown up with.

Helen is a spry 86

Besides travel and the Hungarian language, Helen’s other passions are music (classical and traditional spiritual) and reading books of current interest, especially those dealing with social problems. She is an active member of Knox’s Book Club. She also collects bird figurines and painted china and is an avid gardener.