LUMBERTON — A founder of the Robeson County History Museum and former owner of The Robesonian has died, but her memory and impact in the county will continue to live on for generations to come.

Helen Seawell Sharpe, 94, died Sunday. She was the wife of the late John Allen “Jack” Sharpe, Jr., a longtime editor and publisher of The Robesonian. Helen was born Jan. 11, 1927, and was the older of two daughters of Merton and Eva Allen Seawell. She grew up on Second Street in St. Pauls, but lived in Lumberton from 1948 to 2021.

Sharpe contributed much to The Robesonian including Robeson Remembers articles, which brought together collaborations and contributions of local historians, writers, citizens and volunteers. The articles ran for 15 years.

She also worked as a county reporter at The Robesonian after she graduated college, where she met Jack Sharpe, whom she married and shared three sons and 59 years of marriage with.

Helen was a driven person who loved to travel and share her stories.

Bob Horne, a former editor of the newspaper, remembers working with Sharpe to edit the Robeson Remembers stories for about seven years.

“Helen was a sweet lady who was very much in tune with the social graces,” Horne said.

She knew “almost everyone in town,” he said with a laugh.

“I enjoyed working with her,” he added.

Sharpe was an avid journalist who loved The Robesonian and working at the paper, which was owned by the Sharpe family from 1912 to 1982. In addition to her “Ramblings” columns in The Robesonian, she had many other accomplishments for which she was recognized and will be remembered.

Sharpe was the valedictorian of her high school class, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, an award-winning writer, state Woman of the Year nominee, member of the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women, community college teacher, world traveler, master’s degree holder and a driving force in preserving and restoring the Carolina Theater as a civic center.

Sharpe also leaves behind a legacy in the Robeson County History Museum which she and her husband founded in the late 1980s. She presented the deed to the museum on July 14, 2015 to Richard Monroe, who was the museum’s president at the time.

The couple purchased and renovated the museum’s building, which was the former site of Southern Express in downtown Lumberton for less than $10,000, Helen told The Robesonian in 2015.

The couple had hoped to start a new weekly publication in the building, after Jack’s siblings decided to sell The Robesonian in 1982. However, the two changed their plans after losing a lawsuit over the no-compete clause in the Sharpe family’s sales agreement.

Instead, the couple would allow the museum to be housed in the building, where it continues to operate at 101 S. Elm St. in Lumberton. However, the couple did buy The Nashville Graphic in Nashville, N.C. and the nearby Littleton Observer in Littleton, near Lake Gaston.

“She was such a wonderful philanthropist and a lover of history,” said Richard Monroe, the museum’s vice president.

The museum has more than 100 members, an active board of directors and about 18 volunteers, according to Shep Oliver, museum curator. The Helen Seawell Sharpe Memorial Garden also blooms in her honor, and is situated between the museum and railroad tracks.

“The museum made her happy,” said Faye Middleton, the museum’s president. “She just beamed every time she came in … every time she came she seemed overjoyed.”

In her later years, Helen would have a caregiver drive her by the garden at the museum for her to enjoy, she said.

“She loved Robeson County and she loved its people,” said Rear Admiral (Ret.) Cliff Sharpe, her son. “She so desperately wanted the best for the community.”

Cliff described his mother as ambitious, both for herself and others.

He also added that Helen always looked for the good in other people.

But even more than that, she was a wonderful mother who always showed her love and support for her children, Cliff said.

A small graveside service will take place on Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Meadowbrook Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be held at Chestnut Street United Methodist Church on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 at 11 a.m.

“The employees of The Robesonian extend our deepest condolences to the Sharpe family. Her legacy will forever be remembered,” said Denise Ward, regional publisher for The Robesonian, Bladen Journal and The Sampson Independent.