BERNE — Helen Ruth Laraway Proper, a long-time lunch lady for the school in Berne who was active in community groups, died on Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, at the Rockingham County Hospice in North Carolina after a brief illness. She was 91.

She was born in Huntersland on Oct. 15, 1921, the daughter of the late Carver and Ruth Weidman Laraway.

Mrs. Proper worked for the Berne-Knox Central School in the cafeteria for 22 years. She was a lifetime member of the Ladies’ Auxiliary for the Berne Fire Department and a long-time member of the Hilltown Seniors.

“Helen spent 62 years caring for her beautiful home on the Berne-Altamont Road in Berne,” her family wrote in a tribute.

Her husband, Freeman Proper, died before her as did her grandson David Laxton in 1991.

She is survived by her daughter, Chyrl Laxton, and her husband, Rex, of Reidsville, N.C., and her son, James Proper, and his wife, Linda, of Irmo, S.C. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Lori Thorn and her husband, Tommy, Daniel Proper and his wife, Stephanie, and by her great-grandsons, Samuel Thorn and Andrew Proper, and her great-granddaughters, Helen Thorn and Jessica Proper.

In the spring, funeral services will be at the Palmer and Shaylor Funeral Home in Middleburgh, and interment will be at Keyserkill Cemetery in Broome Center, N.Y. Condolences may be left online at www.palmershaylorfuneralhome.com.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Berne Fire Company, Post Office Box 187, Berne, NY  12023.