Obituary of Helen Payne Stroupe Holubek

Helen Payne Wilcox Stroupe Holubek, 97, of Boone, NC, passed away September 10, 2020, with her family by her side. She was born to the late Dempsey Wilcox and Florence Payne on May 24, 1923, in Boone, NC. Helen graduated from Appalachian High School in 1940 and received her Bachelor's degree in Elementary and Music Education at Appalachian State Teachers College and later her Masters degree at Appalachian State University. She married the late Edward McElwee Stroupe, Sr. of Clover, SC, on October 6, 1947. They lived in Charlotte until Ed's death on March 6, 1962. She moved back to Boone in 1963, with her twin sons, Mac and Lee. She married John James Holubek on October 8, 1983. Helen and John resided in both Holiday, FL, and Boone, NC. They enjoyed extensive domestic and foreign travel prior to John's death on February 17, 1996. Helen is survived by her two sons and their wives, Edward McElwee Stroupe and Linda Aldridge Stroupe, of Greensboro, NC, and Lee Wilcox Stroupe and Anita Fielden Stroupe, of Boone. She has four grandchildren: Mark Edward Stroupe married to Elizabeth Rayle Stroupe, Carter McElwee Stroupe, deceased June 30, 2010, David Lee Stroupe married to Preetha Chakrabarti, and Kristin Anita Stroupe married to Jeffrey Loperfido. She has three great-grandchildren: Lillian Elizabeth and Blake Carter Stroupe and Dominic Lee Stroupe-Loperfido. Helen is survived by her sister-in-law Norma B. Wilcox. Her three siblings, Mary Lillian Wilcox Kilby, Nancy Wilcox Ragan, and Dempsey Lee Wilcox, Jr., predeceased her. She has a special New York family, Lillian Holubek, Paul and Elizabeth Holubek, Maryann and Eric Notholt, and Edna and Abed Mustafa. Helen loved life and lived it to the fullest. She was deeply devoted to her immediate and extended family, and she cherished her many friends. In her later years, she developed close relationships with her caregivers who provided companionship and tender loving care. Helen loved reading, flowers, trees, poetry, Bible study, good food, and her church. As an elementary teacher for thirty years, she spent twenty years teaching at Mabel Elementary School in Watauga County. She was recognized for her excellence in teaching when she was selected Watauga County Teacher of The Year for 1971-1972. She was a member and past president of the local chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa Sorority for women educators. She was a lifetime member of the National Education Association and a member of the local chapter of the Retired North Carolina School Personnel. As a trail blazer, she was the first female Student Body President at Appalachian High School as well as one of the first two women to be elected to the First Baptist Church Board of Deacons in Boone. She also served on a variety of church committees and in other roles through the years. At First Baptist she taught various Sunday School classes including her most recent, the Contemporary Ladies Class. She also served as Sunday School Superintendent. She was on the Watauga County Habitat for Humanity Board and a member of the Gardenette garden club that helped with the Daniel Boone Gardens. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, services for Mrs. Holubek will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to the Watauga County Habitat for Humanity, P.O. Box 33DTS, Boone, US-NC 28607-0033, and PFLAG Greensboro Carter Stroupe Memorial Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 4153, Greensboro, N.C. 27404. Online condolences may be shared at austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com Austin & Barnes Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the family.