Helen Luth Mannion, 85, of Southern Pines, North Carolina, died on July 7, 2020 at Quail Haven Retirement Village. Mrs. (Helen Ann Luth) Mannion was born on April 27, 1935 in the Dutch West Indies on the island of Aruba, to Edith Rose Nugent and Collins Henry Luth of Niles, Michigan. She graduated from St. Mary’s Academy, South Bend, Indiana in 1953. The following fall she entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Michigan. After obtaining a Masters in Library Science in 1970, she began a twenty-five year teaching career, finishing at the Maine Township East High School, Park Ridge, Illinois. While in Chicago, Mrs. Mannion met the love of her life, John F. Mannion of Oak Park, Illinois. The couple were married in Chicago on March 9, 1983. Mrs. Mannion became an avid Chicago sailor. She also loved to fish and learned to cast quite well in the northern Wisconsin lakes enjoyed by Mr. Mannion since childhood. During her many years in Chicago, Mrs. Mannion played competitive tennis, enjoyed attending the ballet and the Chicago Art Institute.
Mr. and Mrs. Mannion retired to Southern Pines in 1999, where Mrs. Mannion continued to play tennis and pursued a love of golf. She served on many hospitality committees at Knollwood Village and will be deeply missed by her friends there. Mrs. Mannion is survived by her beloved husband of 38 years, John F. Mannion of Southern Pines, N.C.; her daughter Mary G. Holt of Washington D.C.; and her son Robert Collins Holt and his wife Christine, of Florence, KY. She is survived by three grandchildren, Megan Rose Holt, Kacey Ann Holt Castenada, and Charles Robert Aboussie. Mrs. Mannion is also survived by her sister Mary Gray (Luth) Dalton of St. Simon’s Island, GA, and many nieces and nephews from across the country, from New York City to Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC and Ft. Collins, CO.
A memorial Mass will be held at Holy Maternity Catholic Church in Dowagiac, Michigan followed by interment at the Riverside Cemetery, Dowagiac, Michigan, at a later date.
Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneralhome.com
Service arrangements have been entrusted to Boles Funeral Home.
