On February 2, 1950, Helen Rollins was born in Thomasville, GA, to Leonard Rollins and Josephine Parker Rollins. The youngest of six children, but mighty in spirit and tenacity, Helen did anything she set her mind to do. She became one of the first Black women to drive buses for the Thomas County School System and served as a pillar to her community and church. Any child who entered Bus 29 felt love, warmth, and care from her mighty spirit. She threw parties for the children who rode her buses, cooked at every family gathering, and flashed her bright smile at anyone who crossed her path. She moved through everything in life with the thought, “Where there is a will; there is a way.” Nothing ever scared her, and no task ever felt impossible. Whether it was breaking barriers and making history or managing to make her yard look ready for a lawn magazine, she did it with grace and knowledge that she could do anything she put her mind to. She raised her kids with the same pride and self-preservation. She went through life with unwavering faith, and instilled in her children the love of God.

Helen enjoyed singing in the choir, cooking, farming, fishing, gardening, and she loved to drive anything that had wheels. She committed to everything she did with the utmost passion and was a natural leader. She raised five children and valued hard work, family, and friends. She could always be seen somewhere around town grinning with her youngest daughter, Nakisha James. The two of them were peas in a pod and were known as a unit for their strong and inseparable bond. Wherever you saw Helen, there was always Nakisha nearby. In addition to her strong bond with her youngest daughter, Helen was the matriarch of her family. She helped raise several of her grandchildren and one special great-granddaughter, Justice Battle, affectionately known as Jay. Helen loved fiercely and worked hard for everything that she received in life. She never took a day for granted and would always try to brighten other people’s days. She was humble and looked out for others in every way that she could.

One of the ways she enjoyed giving back to her community was through her church. She sang in the gospel choir, served on the usher board, and has been an active member of Springhill Baptist Church her whole life. Her mother and father were also members of Springhill Baptist Church and are buried in the church’s graveyard. Her homecoming at Springhill is the completion of a life well-lived and a journey fulfilled. She was called home on Sunday, July 5th, 2026, surrounded by her loved ones, peacefully. She was preceded in death by: her Beloved parents, Leonard and Josphine Parker Rollins, children, Tangie Battle and Kenneth James Battle, grandson, Kenneth James Battle Jr., her sisters, Mary Lee Crumbly, Josephine Brown, Dorothy Mickens, Catherine Lovejoy, and her beloved sister-in-law and lifelong friend, Mary Rollins, her brothers, Rosevelt Rollins, James Lacey Rollins, and Henry Hooker, and her beloved best friends, Katherine Brown, Estella Walker, Katie Jackson, and Pearl Bighams.

Helen is survived by her last surviving sister, Josephine Hooker Gibson, her loving children, Donna Marie Wright (Willie) (Desmond Battle and Wilbert Solane), Shirley Deloris Battle (Shamara Battle and Tyia Burnett), Willie Battle (Samantha) (Jasmine Battle, Artre’unnah Perkins, Willie Battle III, Kierra Wolfe), the late Kenneth James Battle’s children, (Kenyetta, Kenya, Kenneth, Nyosha, Kenyanna, Quenciana, Kenton), and Nakisha Battle James (Andra), (Jacques James and Andrea James). She is also survived by her 26 great-grandchildren, whom she all loved deeply, her beloved Goddaughter and cousin Zelda Gonzalez, her Godsons, Christopher Bable, Earl Bable, Corey Bable, and Anthony Monroe, and special friends Alma Dell Mitchell and Ruth Williams. She also leaves a host of loving nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.