Helen M. (Williams) Phillips of Oak Bluffs died July 7 at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She was 77.

She was predeceased by her husband, Frederick E. Phillips, in July of 2004. She is survived by her son, Edward F. Phillips of Bridgewater; her granddaughters, Dakkota Phillips and Chiara Phillips; a sister, Esther Graves, and a nephew, Daryell A. Williams, both of Indianapolis.

Helen was born in Indianapolis, Ind., on June 26, 1936, the middle child of two sisters and two brothers born to Alfred Williams and Georgia Williams. She was in the first graduating class of George Washington High School in 1954 during the initial school integration era.

She went on to receive her RN from Marion County General Hospital Nursing School in 1957 and worked there for two years. She then moved to Boston and was employed at Boston University Hospital during which she met and married Fred. Together they moved to Kansas for a couple of years, only to return to live in Stow.

Helen retired as director of surgical nursing from Emerson Hospital in Concord in 1996 and moved permanently to Martha’s Vineyard, where she had always summered with her family.

Helen enjoyed reading and working out at B-Strong Fitness Center in Oak Bluffs.

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, July 13 at noon in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Oak Bluffs officiated by the Rev. Dr. Roger Spinney. Donations may be made in her memory to the VFW Post 9261, P.O. Box 1437, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.

Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs. An online guest book is available at ccgfuneralhome.com.