Helen Charcalis Erskine's Obituary
Loving wife, mother, grandmother, and passionate educator, Helen Charcalis Erskine, 77, passed away peacefully at her home on November 7, 2023.
Born in Concord, New Hampshire, and a resident of Memphis, Tennessee, since 1976, she graduated from Concord High School (NH), obtained her bachelor's degree from the University of New Hampshire, and her master's degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
The child of Greek immigrants, she was a member of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Memphis, where she was active in the Daughters of Penelope. Proud of her Greek heritage, she loved to share her cultural identity with others, usually in the form of her delicious family recipes. She was a longtime pastry shop volunteer during the Memphis Greek Fest and enjoyed Greek dancing.
She was a career English teacher, first in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and then in Stony Brook, New York. Later, in Memphis, she taught English for gifted students for 25 years. She taught briefly at Craigmont Junior High School but spent most of her career at White Station Junior High / Middle School. Over the years, her former students would tell her how they recalled the song she taught for remembering linking verbs and her gestures for remembering vocabulary words (exacerbate! clandestine!), and how they continued to use her “Rainbow Packet” grammar reference into high school and college. She believed strongly that middle school students could handle studying complicated subjects and engage in thought-provoking discussions. Very little made her happier than learning the amazing things her former students were doing with their lives. After retirement, she remained active in Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional society for women educators.
In recent years, she was surrounded by a tight-knit group of longtime friends with whom she frequently dined and even traveled around the world.
Her greatest love was her family. She celebrated the accomplishments of her husband and children as her own. She was always the first (and loudest) to clap at her musician husband's performances and took great pride in everything her sons did. She was also thrilled to welcome the arrival of three grandchildren into the family.
She is preceded in death by her parents, William G. Charcalis and Katherine Pappas Charcalis, and her brother George Charcalis. She is survived by her beloved husband of 52 years, Bruce Erskine, of Germantown, Tennessee; sons Michael Erskine (Sara Erskine), of Germantown, and Mark Erskine (Diana Comes), of Memphis; brothers Harry Charcalis, of Concord, New Hampshire, and William G. Charcalis (Jeanne Charcalis), of Stamford, Connecticut; and grandchildren Thomas and Bonnie Erskine, of Germantown, and Alice Erskine-Comes, of Memphis, as well as many dear nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
The family invites friends to gather for visitation and a Trisagion service Tuesday, November 14, 2023, from 5:00pm until 7:00pm at Memorial Park Funeral Home, 5668 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, November 15, 2023, at 11:00 am at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 573 N. Highland, Memphis, TN, with burial to follow in Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations be made to MIFA or the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church.
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