July 06 1943
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, Tuesday, July 06, 1943
Mrs. May Helms, Composer, Singer Was 'Cellist, Soloist In Mozart Sextet
Mrs. May Whitney Helms, composer, singer and 'cellist and a former member of the Mozart Sextet of Brooklyn, died yesterday in her apartment at the Hotel Windermere, 666 West End Ave., Manhattan. She was the wife of Hermann Helms, publisher of the American Chess Bulletin.
An accomplished musician since childhood, Mrs. Helms was born in Brooklyn, the daughter of the late George Morse Whitney, corporation lawyer and musician. In 1890 she became a member of the Mozart Sextet, which her father organized and conducted and in which were Mrs. Helm's mother, harpist and pianist; her sisters, Pearl and Estelle, who played first violin and viola, respectively, and a brother, Charles M. Whitney, second violinist. Mrs. Helms was 'cellist and soloist. The sextet made two tours of the United States and Canada.
In later years Mrs. Helms composed a number of marches, including “March of Freedom,” dedicated to President Roosevelt, and “Yankee March,” dedicated to the Red Cross.
Her daughter, Mrs. Thelma Helms Foster, assistant to the head of the Plainfield, N. J., chapter of the Red Cross, died in 1941. Besides her husband, Mrs. Helms is survived by her brother, Charles.
Funeral services will be held at noon Thursday in the Universal Funeral Chapel, 597 Lexington Ave., Manhattan. Burial will be in Northport.
