First Lady Helen Coe Lemieux

First Lady Helen Coe Lemieux, the wife of Bernard J. Lemieux, M.D., the Imperial Potentate of Shriners of North America, passed away Tuesday, January 1st, after a courageous battle with Cancer.

First Lady Helen was born in Mishawaka, Ind., the oldest of four children. She was raised on an Indiana beef farm, her father a Notre Dame graduate who majored in accounting and maintained both a private accounting practice and a farm business.

First Lady Helen graduated from Purdue University in Indiana with a Bachelor of Science in home economics and a Master of Science in textile and food research. She taught home economics in public schools in Indiana and Ohio for four years, ultimately joining the college faculty at Bowling Green State University for three years. During the tenure of her final year at Bowling Green State University, she began night school at the University of Toledo Law School and graduated. She presently continues to practice law and has practiced law for approximately 35 years; her areas of specialty are family law and probate.

First Lady Helen owned and operated a wire service floral shop in Maumee, Ohio, for seven years. Her educational background and the flower shop were foundations for her assistance in developing the Assistant Rabban seminars for the Ladies of Shriners of North America. She was an integral part of the educational seminars of both the Oriental Guide and the Assistant Rabban for the last five years.

Imperial Sir Lemieux and First Lady Helen resided in Perrysburg, Ohio, and have one son, Bernard J. Lemieux Jr., who resides in Scottsdale, Ariz.

First Lady Helen's program, "Research - Straight to the Heart," will continue to raise funds for an internship program for medical students at Shriners Hospitals, with an emphasis on research. To donate to First Lady Helen's Program, click on the link shrinershq.com.