Submitted by: Dan Rich

Helen Eunice Dillon

July 5, 1914 - Nov. 6, 2008

South Bend Tribune 11/9/2008
SOUTH BEND - Helen Eunice (Jackson) Dillon, 94, was born July 5, 1914, in Noxubee County, Mississippi, on a farm. She was "Eunice" to all her relatives. She graduated from high school in Tupelo, Miss., and graduated from East Mississippi Junior College, Scooba, Miss., in 1935. She continued her education at Miss. State College for Women in Columbus, Mississippi (part of Miss. State College today). Helen majored in history and graduated with an AB degree in 1937. Unable to find a job as a high school teacher in Miss., she moved to Washington, D.C., in 1939 and worked as an interviewer for the Dept. of the Army. In 1941 she moved to Jacksonville, Florida, to work as a position classifier for the Dept. of the Navy. Throughout World War II, she traveled to U.S. Navy bases in the southeastern part of the country, including Guantanamo, Cuba, and the Panama Canal Zone. Helen married Earnest Lee "Buddy" Dillon on November 19, 1948, in Jacksonville, and their first daughter, Helen (Dillon) Banas, was born there. After moving to Atlanta for two years, they then settled in Indianapolis and their second daughter, Mary (Dillon) Sangsland, was born. Mom worked at the Army Finance Center at Fort Benjamin Harrison in the personnel dept. until retirement. She is survived by her two daughters, Helen (Victor) Banas of South Bend and Mary (John) Sangsland of Martin, MI; two grandchildren, Roger (LeAnn) Sangsland and Stacy (Marcel) Acris; and two great-grandchildren, Kelsey and Wyatt Sangsland. She was preceded in death by her husband, Buddy; a granddaughter, Dawn Sangsland; two sisters, Elizabeth Hart and Lyda Wadlington; and her parents, Thomas L. and Alice D. (Aycock) Jackson. Mom always liked to travel, and with relatives in many places we traveled often, visiting historical places on the way. She was always interested in politics and what was going on in the world. She always voted, even in this year's primary. She liked to read historical novels and religious literature of all kinds. Mom moved to South Bend in June 1994 to be close to her daughters. She seemed to adapt to wherever she lived, even in declining health, and made sure the people helping her knew what she wanted them to do. She will be missed.