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Man responsible for The Colony's Shoreline Trail, Kids Colony Playground, Tree City USA loses battle with cancer
City staff mourns loss of friend, colleague, inspiration
By Marthe Stinton, mstinton@starlocalnews.com
In a growing city of more than 37,000 people, it could be hard to see the work of one man - but not in The Colony. Keith Helms has left a legacy that is easily seen on any city trail, street or sidewalk.
That sentiment echoed through the community and to the doorstep of the Helms family home. His wife, Jennifer, met Keith when they were very young in the small Texas town of Palestine. They were high school sweethearts who married during college.
"He worked while I finished my degree, then I worked while he finished his landscape architecture degree at Texas A&M," Jennifer said. "We then moved to Mesquite in 1995 because he had accepted a job with a landscape firm, Armstrong-Berger, in Dallas. He got an opportunity to work with the city of Mesquite soon after, and enjoyed that job for eight years. He tried the private sector again with USA Professional Services Group, located in North Dallas, and wasn't really happy with the longer hours and high stress. Someone recommended that he apply for the position at the city of The Colony and he was able to work there for six years."
During that time, the Helms had their first son, Joshua, in 1999, adopted a daughter named Molly and had a second son, named Noah. They built their family on the foundation of their faith and were always active members in church activities.
"We've had a wonderful supportive group of friends while we've been through this last year," Jennifer said. "Keith was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 1983 when he was 14. He had a lot of health problems until 1990, when he had surgery for a perforated bowel. After that, he didn't really have many issues related to the Crohn's, except for an occasional flareup."
But all of that changed in August 2011, when Keith was diagnosed with small bowel cancer.
"He had eight months of successful chemo, then it stopped working," Jennifer said. "There was only one more chemo regimen that he could try and it did not work. He really started going downhill in July. He was so brave and calm about his health problems. He never complained or got angry, he just accepted the prognosis. He was a wonderful father, always loving and patient with our children."
Jennifer said her husband was extremely proud of the work he did in The Colony, particularly the parks and trails.
"We would sometimes visit different sites on weekends so that he could check on the progress," she said. "He was really proud of the Shoreline Trail in The Colony and he knew that the residents would get a lot of use out of it. He drove in the annual Christmas parade every year, sometimes with city council members or Rudolph."
Nelson said she will never forget the first day she met Helms when he interviewed for the position of park development manager.
"I knew within the first few moments of talking to him that he was someone very special," Nelson said. "He was genuine in that interview ... not putting on a show to get a job, but to show us who he really was, and he never wavered from being that person."
During his time with the city, Helms spearheaded several projects, including the Shoreline Trail, Kids Colony Playground and Tree City USA.
"Anyone who knew Keith would say he was a kind, gentle and compassionate man," Nelson said. "He was a man of great character and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. Everything that he did was a reflection of his gentle spirit and what was in his heart. And although he was a soft-spoken man, he had a definite fiery passion for everything in his life."
Helms was passionate about his family, his faith, serving others and his job - especially the trails, Nelson said.
"He spent hundreds of hours tromping through weeds and thorns and chiggers, and he'd come back to the office often sunburned, sometimes bleeding, many times itching, but proud of laying out every inch of a 3.5 mile trail on our city's shoreline on Lake Lewisville," she said. "He fought hard to make sure that trails were included in our street improvement projects, to provide safer passageways for kids to get around town and to school, or for people to get to their jobs or places to shop. He loved nature, and wanted people to be able to enjoy it as he did by providing access through trails."
Helms was passionate about beautification and changing the face and image of the community, Nelson said. He was instrumental in creating new streetscape designs that are exponentially elevating the appearance of the city's main thoroughfares.
Several beautiful landscapes for the city's trails, parks and public spaces that require little water to sustain, but bring a new dimension of interest and beauty to those areas were created by Helms.
"He was passionate about play and providing opportunities for children of all abilities to be included in play in our parks," Nelson said. "He helped design and build new play structures in many of our parks, and we are so sad that the one he dreamed of the most, Kids Colony playground, our first all inclusive playground, will not be completed until next spring. He was instrumental in helping The Colony become designated as a Playful City USA, and it always brought him great joy to see kids playing on the playgrounds he designed."
The Colony became a Tree City USA city several years ago because of Helms efforts. There will be thousands of trees planted in The Colony's public spaces over the next several years because of plans he put in place.
Each year for Arbor Day, Nelson said, Helms would speak to hundreds of kids at the city's schools, teaching them about the importance of trees in the world and environment. He created an Adopt-A-Tree program that gives people the ability to honor a loved one by planting a tree in their name, Nelson said.
"He will be greatly missed by all who knew him and worked with him, and especially by his family," Jennifer said.
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