Helen Drucella Berry, daughter of Luther and Mamie (White) Berry, was born January 26, 1918, in Missouri, probably near Ash Grove. She grew up on the Berry farm west of Ash Grove, and attended the Ash Grove School as a child. Drucella did not marry or have children. In the summer of 1947, Helen Drucella was admitted to Springfield City Hospital and diagnosed with tularemia (commonly known as rabbit fever). The doctor believed she had contracted it from a “briar in thumb while picking blackberries.” Helen Drucella died in the hospital three days later, on July 26, 1947 (Russell 2012).
Helen Drucella Berry. Ozarks Afro-American History Museum Online, accessed February 3, 2022, https://oaahm.omeka.net/items/show/137.
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Helen Drucella Berry leaning on chair back in photographer's studio. Ozarks Afro-American History Museum Online, accessed February 3, 2022, https://oaahm.omeka.net/items/show/94.
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Grave Marker: Helen Drucella Berry's specific place of burial within the Berry Cemetery is unknown and there is no individual headstone for her. However, Helen Drucella is memorialized by the inscription of her name (shown below) on the new monument, installed in 2017, for individuals interred in unmarked graves in the Berry Cemetery.
