Hazel Landrum "Pete" Helton, 90, passed away on June 18, 2016 at home.

He was born in Waxhaw, NC to A. H. and Annie Helton. Pete's mother passed
away when he was 18 months old and his father married Lottie Leonard of
Sanford, NC. Pete was working for Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in Sanford
when he met Betty Harrelson on a blind date. They married in 1945 in Waco,
NC, and were married for 71 years. As a young man, Pete was a pilot and
raced hydroplanes, winning more races than he lost. When children arrived,
Pete left these sports and went to work for Shell Oil Company in Charlotte
and later Detroit.

After two years in Michigan, Pete and his young family returned to
Charlotte, where he was a co-owner of Pete's Bait and Tackle Shop on Highway
49 near what is now Billy Graham Parkway. Eight years later he and his wife
bought York Road Tackle Shop on Highway 49 at the corner of Youngblood Road
and Shopton Road West and over the years expanded it into Pete and Betty's
York Road General Store. The store was a community hub and people from all
walks of life were customers. Pete and Betty sold the store after nearly a
quarter of a century, and Pete worked for the Charlotte Farmers Market until
he retired.

Throughout his life, Pete enjoyed outdoor sports, including hunting,
boating, and especially fishing. Many vacations were spent fishing off the
coast of NC or on a Canadian lake. He was a good cook indoors and out,
cooking for hunting, fishing, and Girl Scout camping trips. Pete and his
wife were deeply involved with the Steele Creek community through their
store, and they extended quiet charity to elderly neighbors and people down
on their luck. Pete volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, was active in the
Steele Creek Masonic Lodge 737, was a 33rd Degree Mason, and a deacon and
chair of the buildings and grounds committee at Central Steele Creek
Presbyterian Church.

Pete was preceded in death by his parents and step-mother; siblings Harold,
James, Charles, Carl and Margaret; and half-brother Leonard.

He is survived by his wife Betty, his daughters Sally (Barry) Childs-Helton
and Cindy (Wade) Shepard, grandsons Miles (Megan) and Mitchell Shepard,
great-grandsons Hayes and Bennett Shepard, half-siblings Arthur Jr. and
Martha Jane Helton, and nieces and nephews. The family wishes to thank his
caregivers Laura, Elaine, Totianna, and Maggie, for their loving and patient
care. The family extends sincere gratitude and appreciation to the staff
members of Hospice and Palliative Care Charlotte Region.

The graveside service and burial at St. Paul United Methodist Church, Waco,
is June 21 at 11:00 a.m.

The family will receive friends at Central Steele Creek Presbyterian Church,
Charlotte, on June 21 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

The memorial service and celebration of life is June 22 at 11:00 a.m. at
Central Steele Creek Presbyterian Church.

Memorial contributions can be made to Steele Creek Volunteer Fire Department
Station No. 2, 7535 Buckland Rd., Charlotte 28279 and to Hospice and
Palliative Care Charlotte Region, 1420 East 7th St., Charlotte 28204.

Condolences may be made online at www.stameytysingerfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Stamey-Tysinger Funeral Home, Fallston
NC.