CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVDN) – A memorial service for the late Walt Helmick will be held on Friday, October 3, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston. His funeral is scheduled for Saturday, October 4, at 1:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Charleston.
Helmick, who was a resident of Minnehaha Springs in Pocahontas County, served his state, county and community in elected office for 49 consecutive years. Beginning in 1976, he was elected to the Pocahontas County Commission, the West Virginia House of Delegates, and then the West Virginia Senate, where he rose to the position of chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. In 2012, he was elected to serve a four-year term as West Virginia’s commissioner of agriculture. He finished his political career with one last six-year term on the Pocahontas County Commission, which he served as president.
For Helmick, public service was a calling, not a career, and he dedicated his life to the betterment of his beloved state and its people.
Helmick, who died at age 81 on September 6, was born near the #4 mine on Leatherwood Creek above Bergoo in Webster County on April 25, 1944. He graduated from Webster Springs High School in 1963 and attended the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology and Lincoln Welding Tech, as well as Mendenhall Auctioneering School. Later, he earned certification in economic development from the University of Oklahoma and a degree from West Virginia Institute of Technology as a non-traditional student. He worked as a coal miner, welder, teacher, business owner and economic development coordinator.
Surviving Helmick are his widow, Rita Hedrick-Helmick, three sons – Samuel, Timothy and Brian – and their spouses, two brothers, two sisters, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren with another due in November. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dock and Cleo Blevins Helmick, his daughter Shelley Renee Helmick, four sisters and three brothers.
