Farewell, Helen Winter and Gwen Cody

Helen Winter

Annandale lost two longtime pillars of the community within the past few weeks: Helen Winter and Gwen Cody.

Helen Winter, informally known as the “first lady of Annandale,” passed away May 1, a month before her 96th birthday. She had been a leader of the Annandale Women’s Club, chaired the Annandale Cleanup every spring for years, and was active in the Annandale Central Business District Planning Committee and the Clean Fairfax Council. 

A longtime resident of Hillwood-Tall Oaks, Winter served as Lady Fairfax in 1993 and was crowned Citizen of the Year by the Mason District Council of Civic Organizations in 2003. Helen Winter Terrace in Ashton Commons was named for her in 2007. 

After raising four children, she worked as a store personnel manager for Giant Food and a substitute teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools. 

Funeral services for Helen Winter will be held May 14 at Annandale United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. People planning to attend are urged to sign up in advance. 

Gwen Cody, who died at age 99 on May 2, was a longtime real estate broker, a resident of Camelot, and an active member of the Fairfax County Republican Committee, and was the first female president of the Annandale Rotary Club. She served in the Virginia General Assembly 1983-85. As a veteran, she will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.