Helen Tarrer F. Martin

Helen Tarrer F. Martin, fourth child of Rhoderick and Iva Tarrer, was born September 15, 1916 in Logan, West Virginia. In her early years, she moved to Huntington, West Virginia. There, she attended Frederick Douglass High School, graduating in 1938. Afterward, she married Cicero Fain of Huntington. Out of that union, a son Cicero Fain, Jr., was born. After divorce, she departed to Washington, D.C. where she worked for the Office of Price Administration during World War 2, while also attending Howard University. In 1947, she graduated from the Howard University School of Dental Hygiene with honors. Unable to find a job in the United States, she traveled to St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, to work for the Department of Health. There, in 1953, she met Stuart Brown Martin of Cleveland, OH, her husband of 31 years. Later, she went into private enterprise as owner of The Cotton Shop, a main street store located in the capital town of Charlotte Amalie, which she ran until she retired in 1990. Helen was a parishioner of All Saints Cathedral. As a longtime participant in the St. Thomas Business and Professional Women’s Organization, she was honored as a “Woman of Achievement.” She was a member of the Gypsy Carnival Troupe, the Estate Hope Homeowners Association, volunteer for the St. Thomas Red Cross and the Department of Tourism’s Hospitality Lounge. She passed away on September 16, 2000, at the age of 84, with a bequest of land to be used to construct the Episcopal-Anglican Church of the Holy Spirit, which survives today. In 2022, the Episcopal Diocese of the Virgin Islands placed a plaque at the church entrance commemorating her gift. She was preceded in death by her sister, Aneda France and two brothers, Rhoderick & Johnny Tarrer. She left behind to mourn one son, Cicero Fain, Jr.; four grandchildren, Cicero Ill, Darren,
Patrick, and Andrea; three great grandchildren, Tashauna, Pierre, and Anas; two great great grandchildren; one sister, Lorena Griffin; one stepsister, Jacqueline Tarrer; one godchild, JoAnn deLagarde Gustav; many loving nieces and nephews.