HELYN HOBBS FARRIS
Helyn Lorena Hobbs Farris, 89, of Eagle Lake passed away peacefully and quickly on May 18, 2023, at the Rice Medical Center. She was born in Leverett’s Chapel, a community in the middle of the Kilgore oilfield, on Aug. 31, 1933, to Horace Hillborn and Evia Jewel Norris Hobbs. Her childhood was spent across the Texas Gulf Coast in many communities before graduating from Columbus High School in 1950.
While working as a bookkeeper at the Columbus Hospital, she met William L. “Bill” Farris. After a one week courtship, Bill deployed to Korea and they corresponded daily until he was discharged from the army 18 months later. They married soon after, on Nov. 24, 1952, in Houston.
Helyn and Bill made their first home in Columbus where he was employed by Southwestern Bell. In 1955 he was transferred to Eagle Lake as the plant manager and that community became their permanent home.
Their family grew to a total of five with the births of their three children, Candyce Dawn “Candy”, Melody Leigh, and William Richard “Rich”.
In 1958 Helyn opened Helyn’s Flower Basket at her home. Her business grew throughout the 1960s - 70s. She earned international recognition as a floral designer, appearing in trade shows in various places in the U.S. and Mexico. Her flower shop expanded into a catering
business as well during those years.
After enjoying success in the floral industry, Helyn and Bill started a completely new venture in January 1975 when they purchased an abandoned hotel in downtown Eagle Lake and began the process of renovating it into The Farris 1912, a hunting lodge and restaurant that would attract visitors from all over the world. The Farris 1912 was noted for its outstanding food and special brand of hospitality.
Helyn and Bill worked tirelessly to promote the hunting industry during those years and were true entrepreneurs in the community of Eagle Lake. In 1995, they sold The Farris and transitioned into retirement.
In retirement, Helyn spent her time gardening at her home and at the parks landscaped by the Eagle Lake Civic Garden Club, of which she was a past president. She had an intense interest in genealogy and spent hours in research of her own family’s roots. Through her research she became a member of the John Everett Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the John Champion Chapter of the Colonial Dames XVII Century, and the Captain John Utie Chapter of the Daughters of American Colonists. She also served her community as a supporter of the Wintermann Library and was on the board of directors of the Eagle Lake Community Hospital for 8 years. She was a lifetime member and former vice-president of the Texas State Florists’ Association.
Helyn was known for her artistic ability, which manifested itself through her floral design work, gardening, sewing projects, culinary talents, restoration of The Farris 1912 and her home, and the many pieces of antique furniture she rescued from junk stores and transformed into works of art.
She loved the community of Eagle Lake, the only place she ever called home. She and Bill enjoyed nothing more than entertaining their friends, in large or small groups, in their hotel and their lakeside home.
Despite tremendous career success, Helyn considered her offspring her greatest achievement. She often referred to her 3 children as the jewels in her crown. On Mother’s Day weekend, just days before her death, she texted her children a thank you for giving her a family to treasure. “My grandkids make me the most blessed woman in Colorado County,” she wrote.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 60 years, Bill, in 2012; also her parents, and her siblings Horace O. “Buddy” Hobbs and Jeannine Richards.
She is survived by her children Candy (Dale) Dixon of Huntsville, Melody (Michael) Grigar of Eagle Lake, and Rich Farris of Plano; her seven grandchi ldren, Alyssa (Paul) Crockett, Lance (Carrie) Grigar, Will (Melissa) Dixon, Lori (Will) Chapman, Lucas (Joey) Zangardi- Dixon, Nicole Farris and Dylan Farris; and six great-grandchildren, Laila and Caine Chapman, Gunner and Halleigh Grigar, and Brayden and Cameron Dixon. Other survivors include her sisters-in-law, Mary Ellen Hobbs, Doris Turner, and Della Robinson, and brother-in-law James “Red” Wells.
A celebration of Helyn’s life will be held on Saturday, June 10 from 2 – 5 p.m. at her home at 1196 Lakeside Drive in Eagle Lake. Friends and former employees are invited to join the family that afternoon as they honor her memory and share some stories. Her remains were cremated and will be interred, along with Bill’s, at the Farris Cemetery outside of Huntsville at a later date.
Those who wish to make memorial donations are asked to consider the Farris Cemetery, PO Box 343, Huntsville, Texas 77340, the Wintermann Library, 101 N. Walnut, or the Rice Medical Center Employee Volunteers, 600 S. Austin Road, both in Eagle Lake.