Helen Garrity Yorke 1905 ~ 2005 Helen Garrity Yorke, a former Utah newspaperwoman and public relations director, passed away at 1:15 a.m. on March 3, 2005, at Christus St. Joseph Villa in Salt Lake City of causes incident to age. She was 99. Born in Salt Lake City on Sept. 9, 1905, to Patrick Henry Garrity and Mary Lucinda Ayres Garrity, she was a graduate of the St. Mary's of the Wasatch School. Helen married John Lester Sullivan in 1927 but later divorced. She worked for the Salt Lake Herald Republican and for the old Salt Lake Telegram before becoming publicity director for Intermountain Theatres, a position she held for almost 20 years. Helen moved to southern California and in 1953 and she married Gabriel S. Yorke, a movie executive. They made their home in Santa Monica, and Helen worked for a number of studios including Buena Vista, Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox, primarily promoting movie openings, a business of which she was very fond and at which she was very good. Gabe passed away due to a heart attack in 1957. Helen formally retired in 1971 but remained active in the promotion and publicity field for several more years in connection with drill team programs at Santa Monica Junior College. Survivors include one daughter, Kathleen P. Sullivan Wallentine (Keith); one brother, Gene C. Garrity (Nola) of Seattle, WA; four grandchildren and four great-grand-children. A private family funeral mass will be celebrated in the chapel at Christus St. Joseph Villa. Committal, Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery. Funeral Directors Neil O'Donnell and Sons.
Obituary: Helen Garrity Yorke
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