Born: 07/28/1954
Centralia, Washington
Died: 06/06/2026
Westford, Vermont
Details of service:
There will not be a memorial service, but we hope those of you who knew him will get out into nature and enjoy the woods in his honor. If you are interested in making a donation in his memory, he was a strong supporter of the Carter Center and the Chittenden County Humane Society (where his last three best friends came from).
Ken R. Helms of Westford passed away peacefully on the morning of June 6 after a six-year struggle with cancer. Ken was an incredible gardener, a life-long reader of books, and he enjoyed collecting wine and making beer. He was an avid fan of the University of Oregon Ducks and loved Clint Eastwood movies. Ken was a quiet, careful and good-hearted person, who understood the beauty and value of small things.
Ken was born in Centralia, Washington. His dad worked at a lumber mill that moved them to White Sulphur Springs, Montana, South Fork, Colorado and Eugene, Oregon. Ken attended Willamette High School, holding the Track and Field javelin record for nearly 20 years. He joined the Navy after high school, and spent three years on the USS Benjamin Stoddert, making port visits in Japan, Korea, Guam, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Western and American Samoa, Fiji and Tuvalu.
Ken attended Lane Community College and then Oregon State University, getting a BS in Zoology. He earned an MS from the University of Nevada, Reno, and while in Nevada, had a son John Evans. He also worked for the Nevada Department of Agriculture conducting plant and insect surveys and maintaining the state insect collection. He earned a PhD from Arizona State University, where he met his love and fellow scientist Sara Helms Cahan. They married in 1999. He held postdoctoral and research faculty positions at Arizona State, Texas A&M, the University of Lausanne, and the University of Vermont.
Ken is survived by his wife Sara, his son John (Virginia) Evans and his grandson Jack; his sisters Nancy Helms, Joyce (Andy) Anderson, Karen (Steve) Gordon, and eight nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Verna Mae and Bobby, and his brother Bobby Jr.
