Our beloved Helen Molly Herold (nee McLeod, formerly Sykes), passed away on Saturday, October 15.

She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1946, to Valerie Charlotte Coverly and Arthur Roy George McLeod. Helen was a woman ahead of her time. Brilliant, funny, kind, and caring. After graduating in 1966 from the University of Pietermaritzburg where she studied Maths, Helen did a postgraduate teaching degree and then taught high school math for a few years in her second language, Afrikaans. Her next career move was into the field of computers, working for the CSIR - Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, where she did pioneering work in graphical displays.

In 1969 she married Anthony Sykes, civil engineer. The couple spent a few years in London while Anthony completed two master's degrees in civil engineering. After their return to South Africa, Helen started working for CADworks, and ended up moving with the company to Sudbury, MA. Along with working, she was active in both a local book club as well as many garden clubs, and won many prizes for lilies and flower arrangements. Anthony passed away in 1995.

In 2000 Helen married Roy Herold, electrical engineer. She finished her career working for two additional software companies and retired in 2010 after which she spent her time with her grandchildren Sami, Christopher, Antony, Timmy, and Cam, as well as doing lots of gardening and walking.

Helen is survived by family all over the world - her husband Roy (Carlisle, MA), daughters Nicola (Lexington, MA) and Kate (Alamo, CA), brothers Ken (Portland, OR) and Graeme (Durban, South Africa), as well as nieces, nephews, and in-laws from Vancouver, Canada to Perth, Australia. Her brilliance, kindness, and good nature will be sorely missed.

A memorial gathering will be held on October 30, 2022 at 11am.  For more information and to complete the attendance form, please click here .

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Cure Alzheimer's Fund .

Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.