Helen G. Lively Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Helen Lively died early in the morning on Wednesday, November 25. She had celebrated her 99th birthday earlier this year with a party thrown by her family. She was the widow of Ashland attorney Max Lively. She is survived by her son Frank Lively (wife Mary) of Cincinnati, Ohio, son Mark Lively (wife Tracy) of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and daughter Linda Hankins (husband Tom) of Hurricane, West Virginia, and by ten grandchildren and several great grandchildren. Helen was born Helen Grace Prill in Chicago, Illinois, on June 22, 1916, the daughter of Anna and Reinhart Prill. She received two marriage proposals on her 27th birthday, from a doctor and from a lawyer. She chose the lawyer. Max and Helen Lively were married on August 6, 1943, in Los Angeles, California. Max received his discharge from the Navy the same day his son Frank was born in 1945 in Hastings, Nebraska. Shortly afterwards, the family moved to Ashland, where Max had had a law practice before enlisting in the Navy after Pearl Harbor. Helen was a devoted wife and mother. She worked hard for her children's schooling, being president of the PTAs at Crabbe Elementary, Coles Junior High, and Paul G. Blazer High School. She was one of the organizers of the Ashland Basketball Church League and continued with that organization long after her children had left the area. Helen was an avid believer in education, beginning at the Ashland Community College while her daughter Linda was still an infant. She took classes there for more than 40 years, eventually being awarded an associates degree. While her children were at Coles and Blazer, she audited Latin, French, Spanish, and art classes with her children's classmates, since Ashland had no formal adult education program. Her belief in an education included applying what she learned by playing bridge, being an parliamentarian, and a Master Gardener. She was one of the organizers of the refurbishment of the pond in Central Park and of the park's elevated planting beds across from King's Daughters' Hospital. She was appointed Kentucky Colonel by two different governors. She died as she lived, humbly and without fanfare. The funeral service will be conducted at 1:00 PM on Friday, November 27, at the Ashland Cemetery Mausoleum on Belmont in South Ashland with Rev. Mark A. Kloha officiating. Entombment will follow in Ashland Cemetery Mausoleum. The family will receive friends from 12:00 noon until service time at the Ashland Cemetery Mausoleum chapel.

Helen G. Lively

June 22, 1916 - November 25, 2015