Plot 21, Grave D

Father: Erwin Bohlen Sr.

Mother: Lessie Sivvie Deer Bohlen

Spouse: Charles Roper Jeter

Childern: 

Sheldon "Leigh" Jeter
Elizabeth Bohlen Jeter
Charles Roper Jeter, Jr.

Mrs. Helen Marie Bohlen Jeter, 73, of Greer, South Carolina, passed away on October 16, 2014 after a courageous battle with cancer. She was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on March 4, 1941, the daughter of Erwin Bohlen, Sr. (1903-1976) and Lessie Sivvie Deer Bohlen (1910-1998). She grew up in Charleston, where her father owned a corner grocery store and her mother was a nurse.

Helen graduated from Charleston High School in 1959 and from the Nursing School at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 1962. Following graduation from the Nursing School, she held several nursing positions at MUSC. Ironically, her first nursing position was located on the same hospital floor where she recovered from two surgeries this past year. In 1967, she received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of South Carolina (USC).

On January 27, 1968, Helen married Charles Roper Jeter, originally from Carlisle in Union County, South Carolina. They initially lived in Columbia, South Carolina, where Helen worked as a nurse at Providence Hospital, before moving to Clemson, South Carolina. Thereafter, they moved to Irmo, South Carolina, where Helen obtained her Master of Nursing degree from USC. She then served on the faculty at USC's College of Nursing from 1978-1981. She received the "Outstanding Teacher Award" from the College of Nursing in 1981.

In 1981, the family moved to Norcross, Georgia, and it was during this time that Helen began her love for the game of tennis. She started her tennis career as a league tennis player and team mom. She then volunteered as team captain and quickly took on increasingly important leadership roles.

After the family moved to the Greenville, South Carolina, area in 1986, Helen used her nursing skills while working as a Medical Consultant and completing medical reviews and underwriting for insurance companies. She also continued to contribute to tennis as a player and volunteer, and her true passion was her volunteer work with tennis programs. She made numerous contributions to the United State Tennis Association (USTA) at the state, sectional, and national levels. In South Carolina, she received many awards recognizing her service, including the Lucy Garvin Volunteer of the Year Award, and was a four-time recipient of the President's Award. In 2007, she was inducted into the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame. In September 2014, she was honored when USTA South Carolina named an award given each year to an outstanding volunteer as the "Helen Jeter Volunteer of the Year Award." In the Southern region, she received the President's Recognition Award, the Gerrie Rothwell Award, and was a two-time recipient of the District Volunteer Service Award. In 2009, she received the Jacobs Bowl Award, which is presented to a volunteer who has shown outstanding service to the USTA Southern Section. At the National Level, she served on various committees and was well-respected as one of the most knowledgeable and dedicated adult league volunteers in the entire country.

Helen was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. She was a strong proponent of education and an enthusiastic supporter of her children and grandchildren in their every endeavor. One of her favorite traditions was showering her grandchildren with gifts at the annual family beach trip, appropriately known as "Christmas at the Beach." More than anything, Helen enjoyed spending time with her family and her friends, and had a special ability to touch the lives of others and make people feel good about themselves.

Survivors include her husband of more than 46 years, Charles Roper Jeter of Greer; daughter, Sheldon (Leigh) Jeter of Glenview, Illinois, her husband Daniel (Dan) Joseph Neppl, and their two children, Helen Elizabeth Neppl and Gregson (Gregg) Joseph Neppl; daughter, Elizabeth (Beth) Bohlen Jeter Hrubala of Spartanburg, South Carolina, her husband Michael (Mike) Andrew Hrubala, and their three children, Michael Andrew (Drew) Hrubala, Jr., Courtney Elizabeth Hrubala, and David Jeter Hrubala; and son, Charles Roper Jeter, Jr. of Huntersville, North Carolina, his wife Jennifer Marie Cox Jeter, and their three children, Caroline Marie Jeter, Elizabeth Leigh (Ellie) Jeter, and Charles (Charlie) Roper Jeter III. Helen also leaves behind brother George, his wife Pat Bohlen, and their sons Chip Bohlen and George Bohlen; sister Evelyn, her husband Curtis Rickenbaker, and their children Allyson Rickenbaker and Scott Rickenbaker; and brother Erwin Bohlen.

She also leaves behind her beloved pet shih-tzu, Buddy.

The family will receive friends and family on Sunday, October 19 from 6-8 PM at Buncombe Street Methodist Church in Greenville, South Carolina.

Funeral services will be held at Buncombe Street Methodist Church in Greenville on Monday, October 20 at 12 PM. Burial services will be held at The Jeter Cemetery on Jeter Cemetery Road in Carlisle, South Carolina, on Monday, October 20 at 3:30 PM.

Memorials may be made to the Gibbs Cancer Center at Spartanburg Regional Foundation, 101 East Wood Street, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29303 or USTA Serves, the National Charitable Foundation of the United States Tennis Association, 70 West Red Oak Lane, White Plains, NY 10604. A brick paver will be inscribed in Helen's honor at the Avenue of Aces at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.

The Holcombe Funeral Home of Union, South Carolina, has charge of arrangements.