Mary Helen Simpson Blackwell, 90, of Ruther Glen, Va., died May 24, 2020, at home, after an extended illness. She was born June 19, 1929, in Clarksburg, W.Va., the daughter and only child of the late Walter Grant Simpson and Beulah Trumbo Simpson of Brandywine, W.Va., where Mrs. Blackwell was raised.

Mrs. Blackwell was a 1947 graduate of Franklin High School, Franklin, W.Va., where she played saxophone in the school band. She met her husband-to-be, William Coles Blackwell of Richmond. Va., when they were students at Lynchburg College. She was active in theater and fondly remembered playing Emily in "Our Town." After graduating in 1951 with a Bachelor's of Arts degree in history, she returned home to Brandywine and taught combined first and second grades in Sugar Grove, W.Va.

The Blackwells were married on July 27, 1953, in Brandywine. While her husband completed his graduate studies, they lived in Lexington, Ky., and she taught first grade at Midway, Ky.

After Mr. Blackwell's ordination, the couple served pastorates and interim ministries in Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Iowa, Maryland and Georgia, as well as assignments for the Disciples of Christ denomination in Illinois and Indiana. In 1996 they retired to Brandywine. In 2011 they moved to Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, Va., while continuing to maintain the Brandywine farm. Following her husband's death in 2014, Mrs. Blackwell went to live with her younger daughter in Ruther Glen.

In addition to her many roles as a minister's wife, her volunteer work included serving as a Pink Lady in Morgantown, W.Va., membership in the League of Women Voters in Fairfax, Va., and Waterloo, Iowa, and reading with children at Brandywine Elementary School. She was an interpreter at the Conner Prairie Interactive History Park in Fishers, Ind., where she educated children about everyday life in pioneer days.

Mrs. Blackwell was an avid reader and enjoyed the theater. She was a gracious hostess and conversationalist, a skilled gardener and flower arranger. She was especially close to her cousins and their extended families. She was deeply interested in history and enjoyed travel. Trips to Colonial Williamsburg, including her honeymoon and fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration, were frequent, as were countless excursions to museums, the National Cathedral, and other sites in Washington, D.C. Two trips to England were special delights.

Mrs. Blackwell is survived by her daughter Mary Byrd Ellison and husband Joe of Powell, Tenn.; her daughter Catherine Coles Wilson and husband Gary of Ruther Glen; and grandchildren Elisabeth Austin Wilson and William Fraser Wilson.

A private service will be held at a later date, followed by interment at Pine Hill Cemetery in Brandywine. Memorial gifts may be made to the South Fork Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 297, Brandywine, W.Va. 26802.  Memories and words of comfort may be left at www.basagic.com or on Facebook at Basagic Funeral Home.