Helen A. Muir Waller, 93, of Tifton passed away Thursday, July 28, 2005, at Tift Regional Medical Center. A memorial service was held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, August 1, 2005, at Tifton's First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Jerry Lillard officiating. Her funeral service was held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, August 4, 2005, at the First Presbyterian Church in Winnebago, Minnesota. Mrs. Waller was laid to rest at Rose Hill Cemetery in Winnebago, Minnesota.
Born May 7, 1912, in Winnebago, Minnesota, Mrs. Waller was the daughter of the late Harry Scott Muir and Florence Austin Muir. She was also preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Dr. Ernest F. Waller.
Mrs. Waller graduated from Winnebago High School in 1930 and attended the University of Minnesota, where she met Dr. Waller. They were married in 1933. After their marriage, they lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota; Ames, Iowa; Durham, New Jersey; Burlington, Vermont; Newark, Delaware; and Delmar and Ardsley, New York, before moving to Tifton in 1970.
Soon after moving to Tifton, Mrs. Waller joined the Tifton Garden Club and later became president of both her garden club and the Council of Garden Clubs of Tifton and was a life member of the Georgia State Council of Garden Clubs and the National council of State Garden Clubs. She was co-founder of the Tifton-Tift County Clean Community Commission, which had its roots in the Keep American Beautiful campaign for litter reduction and community beautification. Tifton won Keep American Beautiful's top national award for a small community. She was appointed a member of the Tree Board of the City of Tifton and coordinated the planting of more than 5,000 trees for schools and industry screening. Mrs. Waller was a member of the Tifton Pilot Club and the First United Methodist Church in Tifton.
Mrs. Waller is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Leora Ann and Marvin Steinbach of North Mankato, Minnesota and Mary Helen and John Field of Asheville, North Carolina; three sisters, Marion Muir, Florence Garletz and Ruth Hartman, all of Winnebago, Minnesota; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and four great-great grandchildren.