Jeep Helm died December 20, 2020, at 85, having spent the final year of her life contending with pancreatic cancer. She was born Carolyn Eads Wall, in Orange, Texas. While she was still a baby her father nicknamed her "Jeep" after a character in the Popeye comic strip. She loved to fish, and said that her earliest memory, from age 3, was of fishing with her grandfather. Her childhood in Orange was shaped by the times: During World War II her father fought on Iwo Jima and her mother worked in the shipyard. Shortly after the war, her sister was hospitalized in Houston with polio. Jeep became a stabilizing force for her family of origin through her high school years. She graduated from Texas Women's University in 1957 and received a Master's in Social Work from the University of Denver in 1959.

Jeep met Bert Helm on a tennis court in Austin, Texas. They married in 1960 and moved to Springfield, Missouri, in 1966, where they raised two children. Jeep and Bert were members of Westminster Presbyterian Church, where Jeep sang in the choir for many years. She also sang with Sweet Adelines and with the Mid-America Singers. Jeep spent the bulk of her professional life as a social worker, including many years in private practice as a family therapist. In addition to fishing and choral music, Jeep's passions were photography and tennis. She and Bert enjoyed annual trips to Glacier National Park for hiking and fishing, as well as many memorable trips to Munich, a 25 ^th anniversary trip to Wimbledon, and a 50 ^th anniversary cruise to Alaska.

Jeep is preceded in death by Bert, by her parents, Carolyn McDonald and Frank Wall, and by her sister, Betty Em Giarratano. She is survived by daughter Kelly Carolyn Helm Smith, son-in-law Kevin Brian Smith, son Mike Hollett Helm, daughter-in-law Ginger Dawn Crabtree, and grandchildren Catherine Carolyn Smith, Brian Michael Smith, Wyatt Michael Crabtree Helm, and Gage Riley Crabtree Helm.

Memorial service will be held December 20, 2021 at 5:00 PM in Westminster Presbyterian Church with The Reverend Micki Pulleyking officiating.  In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Good Samaritan Boys' Ranch ( http://ranchlife.org/ ) or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-Research, Patient Support, Resources).