Helen McNitt

Helen Louise McNitt, 93, Fayetteville resident from 1944 to 1962 Helen Louise McNitt, 93, of Naples, FL, passed away on Sept. 10, 2013, at her summer residence in Boulder, CO. She was born March 29, 1920, in Detroit, MI, and was the daughter of Dr. Bernard Henry Vollertsen, a physician, and Helen Warner Vollertsen, both of whom were graduates of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Her step-father was William Albert Shaver, an automotive engineer, who married Helen Warner in 1932. The late Kenton Pritchard Shaver of Pittsburg, PA, was her beloved step-brother. Helen Louise “Shaver,” as she was known to school friends, attended high school in Birmingham, MI; Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH; and was graduated from Radcliffe College, Cambridge, MA, in 1943. On June 24, 1944, she married James D. McNitt (Antioch, 1939, MIT, 1943) of Perth Amboy, NJ, at Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Helen McNitt was a resident of Fayetteville from 1944 to 1964. She was the devoted mother of three surviving children: James David (born 1948); Suzanne Waring (born 1950); and Robert William (born 1952). Her first child, Louise, died shortly after birth on Sept. 11, 1946. During her 20 years in Fayetteville, NY, Helen McNitt was a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church, the Onondaga Golf and Country Club, the Willow Bank Yacht Club of Cazenovia, NY, and was active as a scout leader and garden club member. The Helen L. McNitt State Park in Cazenovia, NY, is named in her honor. In 1964, following James’ promotion to president of the Bristol Labs division, and senior vice president and group executive, of Bristol Myers Squibb, the family moved to Greenwich, CT. In 1974, Helen and James McNitt retired to Naples, FL. Helen McNitt is survived by her husband, three children, and five adult grandchildren: Judson Brown, a real estate executive in Denver, CO; William McNitt, a medical resident in Tulsa, OK, Anna Brown, a public relations executive in Manhattan, NY; Lauren McNitt, a marketing executive in Denver, CO; and Eliza McNitt a filmmaker in Manhattan, NY. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a small donation be made to The Conservancy of Southwest Florida Sea Turtle Protection Program in Naples, Florida. The funeral service will be at 10:00 am on October 26th at Parkside Church in Chagrin Falls, OH. There will be a reception following the service for the family. Service Information A service summary is not available