Former teacher, technical writer, website designer
Published January 20, 2021
LYNNFIELD — Karin S. Hellmer, or “Kory” to most who knew her, passed away on Jan. 6, 2021.
She was born on Jan. 16, 1943 to the late Greta and Carl M. Hellmer.
She spent her childhood in Lynnfield, where she was active in the Girl Scouts and built friendships that would last a lifetime. Early on, she found a love for travel and adventure, paddling the Rangeley Lakes with her summer campmates, who would guide her on her journey throughout the world during her life.
She graduated from Lynnfield High School in 1960 and continued her education at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., where she joined the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma.
After graduating, Kory moved to Montana, where she made friends and learned to trail ride on horseback. She worked in writing for the University of Montana before returning to the East, where she taught English at Wilmington High School. Always in search of something new and exciting, she changed careers and became a technical writer and then, while the Internet was still blossoming, started her own successful business creating and editing websites for personal, commercial and nonprofit organizations.
Kory’s sense of adventure and love for new experiences led her on many escapades skiing, hiking, camping and traveling throughout the United States and around the world. She shared these experiences with her family, giving them opportunities and life encounters that would never have been imaginable. Everywhere she went, she immersed herself in the local culture and brought memories and artwork back with her, indicative of the eclectic and wonderfully eccentric person she was. She enjoyed traveling to many countries, including Costa Rica, Indonesia, Belize, Greece and many more. With her close friend, she rented a houseboat in Amsterdam, skied in Banff, Alberta, Canada, and trotted off to a horseback riding trip outside Barcelona. In the south of Spain, Kory attended the Blessing of the Animals event with the entire small town of Javea. Kory, of course, joined the local band in celebrating the occasion. She lived a life of adventure that would leave even the most well traveled person in envy.
Kory shared many of her travel experiences with a group of like-minded companions, with whom she built lasting friendships and unforgettable memories. It began with a group celebration in Chatham and continued to Tuscany, Sicily, England, France and Spain. Her friends will go on travelling, but there will be an empty space in their hearts.
Kory was also committed to her community, spending countless hours dedicated to the Friends of Lake Quannapowitt working on projects such as the commissioning of the Gertrude M. Spaulding Park, a beautiful retreat on the banks of Lake Quannapowitt enjoyed by townspeople and visitors alike. She also played an important role in the revival of the local history of Wakefield, founding the Wakefield Wicker Society, intending to bring to light the industrial beginnings of Wakefield, and helping to start the Friends of Pleasure Island, a revival of the once prominent Wakefield theme park that was billed as “The Disneyland of the Northeast.”
In her later years, she could be found spending time in her garden, collecting wildflowers on the roadside, writing to distant friends and relatives, researching various topics of interest or getting lost in a novel. She always kept herself engaged, never letting her mind or creativity ebb.
Arrangements were in the care of the McDonald Funeral Home, Wakefield.
