Helen Earl (Grubbs) Stallings, 92, former Altus resident, passed away on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 at the Beehive Care Facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Graveside services will be 10:00 AM Friday, August 4, 2023 in the Altus City Cemetery with Bishop John Barron officiating. Burial will be under the care of the Kincannon Funeral Home and Cremation Service.
Helen was born in Tipton, Oklahoma to Julian and Lois Grubbs on January 5, 1931. She was the oldest of three girls. Her parents owned a chicken hatchery, and they lived in the living quarters at the back of the big building. These living quarters were a rarity for this period as they had indoor plumbing. Though not 5 foot tall, Helen played basketball in High School and had kept in touch with many of her classmates until the last few years of her life. Helen married Joe Stallings on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1948. They farmed in Altus, Oklahoma until moving to Carlsbad, New Mexico in 1959. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and worked many years on Spanish Ancestry Records at the Family History Center in Carlsbad. Helen was an avid reader and had an extensive collection of books. Even though the books numbered in the thousands she could find one at any point in time in just a few minutes. Helen and Joe owned a pecan orchard and had some of the best pecans in the Pecos Valley. They always sold at top dollar due to the high quality. They also raised registered goats and enjoyed traveling to show their animals and winning ribbons. Helen kept immaculate records of each goat and filed registered papers with a unique name for each one. She had varied interests and regularly read Anthropology, Smithsonian, and several current event news magazines. She always has been and always will be the center and light of our family.
Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Joe Stallings; sisters, Johnnie Hawthorne and Jimmie Poor; and a granddaughter, Charity Ann Grosso.
She is survived by her two daughters, Diane Goins and Gail Grosso and husband, Charles, of Albuquerque; two sons, Bobby Stallings and wife, Faye, and Morgan Stallings and wife, Michelle, of Montgomery, Texas; her grandchildren, Joey Burch of Albuquerque, NM, Shara Magby and husband, Daniel, and Ryan Goins and wife, Joyce, of Carlsbad, NM, Michael Grosso of Tulsa, OK, Kelley Thurston and husband, Ben, and Jon Grosso and wife, Melissa, of Albuquerque, NM, Sarah Valerio and husband, Jon, and Lindsey Stallings, of Las Vegas, NV, Amanda Johnson and husband, Ben, Savannah, Morgan, Joel and Roman Stallings, all of Montgomery, TX; and 15 great grandchildren.
Online tributes may be made at kincannonfuneralhome.com