Helen Virginia Hartnett Miller died on April 19 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital; she was 89. A longtime resident of Chappaquiddick island, she first visited the Vineyard in 1946, and returned a year later for her honeymoon.

The third child of James T. Hartnett and Helen L. Barry, and the last surviving of their six children, Helen was born in Peabody in 1919. She attended local public schools and then Salem Teacher’s College before transferring to Simmons College, where she studied nursing and worked for the Community Health Association; she interrupted her education to join the Army Air Corps, graduating in 1947. Helen later received a master’s degree in psychology from the Teacher’s College at Columbia University.

During World War II, Helen (also known as Hutze, a nickname three nieces gave her because they could not pronounce her real name) served as a nurse in the 803rd Medical Air Evacuation Squadron in the Army Air Corps. Stationed in the China-Burma-India theatre, she regularly flew over the Himalayas caring for wounded soldiers; her diligent service was featured in the April 7, 1945, issue of Phoenix, the Southeast Asia Command’s Picture Weekly. A recipient of the Air Medal, Asiatic Pacific Theatre Medal with four bronze stars, and a meritorious service unit plaque, by war’s end Helen had risen to the rank of captain.

She met her future husband, Frank L. Miller 3rd, while he, too, was stationed in India; they married in 1947 and moved around the country so much that none of their four children were born in the same state. They finally settled in Darien, Conn., in 1953, where Helen volunteered as a school librarian, subsequently heading the school library system and later directing the Thomas School library.

The family spent every summer in Edgartown, and owned a house on South Water street; it was there that Helen and her children rode out Hurricane Carol in 1954. Six years later, the family built a home on Chappy that overlooked Edgartown harbor.

Following the couple’s divorce, Helen and her children continued to call the island their summer home: she volunteered for a number of civic organizations, played an active part in community affairs (just ask any town selectman or zoning commissioner), and was a member of the Edgartown Yacht Club, the Chappaquiddick Island Association, and the Chappaquiddick Beach Club.

In the mid-1970s, Helen began to spend winters in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, becoming fluent in Spanish and teaching at the San Miguel School of English; her students, who learned to speak English with a distinct Massachusetts accent, praised her commitment to them: “We’re so grateful because you could be doing some other things,” they wrote in a letter of appreciation, “but you prefer to be with us . . . spending your time preparing your excellent classes.”

An avid knitter, energetic swimmer, inveterate reader and indefatigable walker, maker of fine jellies, chutneys, and a wicked blueberry pie — enthusiasms she passed on to her children and grandchildren — Helen led a fully engaged and independent life.

Survivors include Barrie Miller Gollinger and Jon Gollinger of Weston; Kathy Miller Scogna of Roseville, Calif.; Frank L. (Char) Miller and Judith Lipsett of Claremont, Calif.; Nicola Miller and Bill Oswald of Oley, Pa.; 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. The family is deeply grateful for the devoted care of Mary Hart and Judy Dimond. Donations may be made in Helen’s memory to The Trustees of Reservations, Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, or the Chappaquiddick Community Center.

Funeral arrangements are under the care of Chapman, Cole and Gleason in Oak Bluffs. A memorial celebration is planned for the summer.

An apt and final tribute comes from a neighbor who wrote a poem celebrating her good friend’s impact on the neighborhood and community:

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The Mayor of Caleb’s Pond Road (1991)

It won’t be the same without Helen

I know that we all will agree

She’s laughing and charming and witty

On the ball—say we all—to a T.

You can tell when she’s here

’Cause the road men appear

How she gets them to come is just grand

But we’re on our own now

And must manage somehow

We’ve just had our last load of sand

It won’t be the same without Helen

To the line she keeps everyone toed

Now sheds will be building

All over the bluff

Without the Mayor of Caleb’s Pond Road!

— Anwyl Bates