Grace was in all her steps, Heaven in her eye. In every gesture, dignity and love.
--John Milton, Paradise Lost

Helen Conley Cargle, loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother passed away on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 9, 2021 at the age of 96. Helen was born July 15, 1924 in Harvest, Alabama, the 10th of Benjamin Harrison and Effie Fowlkes Conley’s 13 children.

 She attended Alabama A&M University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science and was a charter member of the Gamma Mu undergraduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. Helen married Frank Edward Cargle, Sr. on July 3, 1949 and the couple migrated to Detroit, MI shortly after.

In 1951, Helen gave birth to a daughter, Fran Yvonne, and in 1954, the family welcomed a son, Frank, Jr.  It was also during this time that Helen began her 31-year career in materials management for the  Army Tank Automotive Command Division of the Federal Government of the United States. In this role she oversaw the global commissioning and retirement of tanks and armored vehicles for the armed services. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Helen also led a successful letter-writing campaign to the U.S. Senate advocating for professional advancement rights on behalf of Black government employees. After her official retirement, Helen worked for several more years as a licensed real estate agent for Cargle Realty Company founded and managed by Frank, Sr.

Helen was a life-long patron of the arts, who in addition to her philanthropic contributions, maintained decades-long membership in her church choir where her first soprano voice could be counted on to deliver the climatic  high note!  Empowered by her  love of music she encouraged and supported private piano and voice lessons,  and raised two classically trained singers in Fran and Frank.  Helen never  missed a concert or sporting event where her children or grandchildren were performing.Nor did she miss an opportunity to support these events with an ad from Cargle Realty Company. During her 68 years in Detroit, she was an enthusiastic supporter of the Brazeal Dennard Chorale, the Detroit Repertory Theater, and the Museum of African American History among other organizations. She was also deeply involved in her Alabama A&M alumni and Alpha Kappa Alpha Detroit graduate chapters as well as her church home, Carter Metropolitain, CME. 

As much as Helen was known for being a no-nonsense disciplinarian, she is also remembered for her profound love and commitment to family, resulting in happy children, who grew up to raise happy grandchildren. She had a quick wit that caught many off guard, and lived her life with dignity, an effortless grace and poise.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Frank E. Cargle, Sr., her parents, and siblings: Jonas Conley, Clara Gurley, Sadie Jacobs, Lillian Jackson, Lawson Conley, Hattie Conley, Mae Sue Pulley, Pearline Coure, Roy Conley,  Ophelia Boyd, and Binford Conley. She is survived by her children, Fran Cargle Butler and Frank E Cargle Jr.,grandchildren, Brittny Cargle, June Young (Marvin), Ashly Cargle-Thompson (Denise), Nina Mena (Juan) and Randy Kyle Butler, great-grandson, Legend Mena, sister, Annie O. Lorick, and a host of nieces and nephews.