Obituary of Helen White Sparks

Helen Sparks (White) died peacefully at home surrounded by her family and friends on December 18, 2018, in Tucson, AZ, at the age of 86. Helen is survived by her husband of 54 years, Calvin Sparks and daughter Susan Sparks, both of Tucson, AZ; sister Mary Grogan and husband, James, and nieces Karen Rodis (Peter) and Tracy Davis (Steven) and nephew Mark Grogan, all from Framington, MA area; and goddaughter, Krista Krueger of Denver, CO. She is preceded in death by her son Timothy Sparks. Helen was born on August 27, 1932 in Newburgh, NY, to Helen and John Russell White. She graduated proudly as Valedictorian from Mount Saint Mary-on-the-Hudson Academy, Newburgh, NY, in 1950, and completed a two-year a two-year secretarial science degree at Edgewood Park School, Briarcliff Manor, NY, in 1952. She traveled and lived internationally for a chunk of her life, loyally serving in the Central Intelligence Agency in Springfield, VA; London, England; New Delhi, India; Accra, Ghana and Monrovia, Liberia. Helen loved being a parishioner in the Roman Catholic Church, spending time with her family and friends, live theater, dancing and cats. The world will not be the same without her class, her kindness, her opinions and her beautiful smile. A Memorial Mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday, January 17, 2019 at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 1600 N. Pio Decimo in Tucson, AZ. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hermitage Cat Shelter or CTSO.