Helen Cecile Peoples Buty

Helen Cecile Peoples Buty peacefully passed away on October 30, 2021. She was born in Hankow, China in 1929, to Lewis Jackson Peoples and Marguerite Ann Tahaney. Helen was a wife, mother, friend, businesswoman, athlete and world traveler.

She spent her early childhood in China but with the onset of WWII, the family was forced to return to San Francisco. When her father was released from Santo Tomas Internment Camp, the family settled in Louisburg, NC, then Washington DC. Helen attended Western High School and American University, where she was a member of Delta Gamma, the debate team as well as a varsity swimmer,  for which she won a collegiate medal. Helen was the youngest woman to join the Red Cross and during the Korean Conflict was stationed in Pusan. Upon her return, as a secretary at Kaiser Permanente, she helped to develop their centralized patient admissions system.

Helen was married to her husband Francis Xavier for 31 years and they lived in Piedmont prior to his passing in 1987. She was a real estate broker and founding partner of Better Homes Montclair and finished her career with The Grubb Company. Her many repeat clients kept returning because they knew they could rely on her knowledge, integrity and dependability. When she wasn’t working or spending time with family she volunteered for the American Heart Association and the Children’s Hospital of Oakland.

Helen enjoyed world travel. She cruised the seven seas and visited every continent with family and friends.

She excelled at sports but especially loved tennis, which she played until she dove for her last shot at the spry age of 82. And yes, although she sacrificed her body like any competitive athlete would, she “won the point!”

When Helen wasn’t traveling, working, playing tennis, dominoes or bridge, she was entertaining. She was a gracious hostess and fabulous cook. Her home was open to those in need of a place to stay, strangers and friends alike. Many family friends enjoyed extended stays at the Buty family home.

She is survived by son Louis, his wife K, daughters Mary and Madeline, their husbands Rick and Jason. Also by grandchildren Gina, Joe, Wynton and Zachary, as well as 6 nephews, 2 nieces, several cousins and grandnieces and grandnephews.

Helen's Funeral Mass will be held 11:00 AM Friday, December 3, 2021, at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, Folly Beach, SC 29439.  A Rosary will precede the Mass at 10:30 AM.

In lieu of flowers, donations to CAA research may be made at https://because.massgeneral.org/hpbuty .

Arrangements by James A. McAlister Funeral Home, 1620 Savannah Hwy, Charleston, SC 29407 (843) 766-1365.