ROCKLAND – Helen M. Staples, 83, died Dec. 6, 2016, at the Sussman House in Rockport.

Born in Belfast on Oct. 18, 1933, she was the daughter of Roland and Ethel Berry Hanson. Raised in Camden, she attended school there.

On Aug. 17, 1950, Helen married Russell “Sonny” Staples in Rockport. The couple moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 1960. There Helen was employed as a quality control inspector at Motorola Corporation.

Following the death of her husband in 1995, Helen returned to West Rockport. For the last several years she lived at Stella Maris House in Rockland, where she enjoyed many friends. Helen enjoyed dancing and bowling. While in Florida, she bowled on the Motorola League. She loved playing card games with her sisters-in-law and had a great sense of humor. She attended the West Rockport Baptist Church.

Other than her parents; and her husband; Helen was predeceased by a son-in-law, David Dillman. She is survived by her children, Allan M. Staples and his wife, Michele, of Port Orange, Fla., Robin W. Staples and his wife, Peggy, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Terry L. Dillman of Vero Beach, Fla.; her brother, Robert Hanson of Washington; her sister, Caroline Rauch of Newark, Ohio; her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Royce and Dorothy Carroll of West Rockport; her grandchildren, Patricia Esser and her husband, Jim, Sharon and Brad Winokur, and Kari Menhennett; her great-grandchildren, Jett, Max, Aubbriana and Jazlyn; her partner, Dana Cunningham; as well as several nieces and nephews.

Friends and relatives are invited to visit on Friday, Dec. 9, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St. in Rockland, where a funeral service will be held on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at SeaView Cemetery in Rockport.

Memorial donations may be made to the Sussman House, c/o PenBay Healthcare, 11 White Street, Rockland, ME 04841.