Helen Early Vinuesa, age 71, of Brownwood passed away Thursday, August 18, 2011 at her home.  Funeral services will be held at 2:00pm, Saturday, August 20, 2011, in the Davis-Morris Funeral Home Chapel. A private burial will follow.  Visitation is scheduled for 1:00pm until 2:00pm, Saturday, prior to the funeral services. 

Helen Taber Early (Mrs. Eduardo Vinuesa) was born in Brownwood, Texas on January 4, 1940.  As a child, she was a tomboy who especially enjoyed playing baseball and climbing trees.  As a young adult, she obtained her B.A. degree at the University of Texas, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta.  Due to her good scholarship there, she was also a member of the honor sorority Alpha Lambda Delta.  Later, she carried her childhood spirit of adventure forward by studying abroad while obtaining her Master’s degree at Middlebury College in Vermont.  It was while she was studying in Spain that she met her husband, Eduardo Vinuesa.  They were married and lived in Spain for several years and had a daughter, Lisa.  After they moved to Texas, she began her professional career as a teacher.  Through most of her life she enjoyed outdoor activities such as water-skiing and camping.  She always had an optimistic outlook on life.  When she and her husband retired, they moved from San Antonio back to her childhood home in Brownwood.  She died at home on August 18, 2011. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, Fielding Early Sr. and Virginia Taber Early.  She is survived by her husband, Eduardo; her daughter, Lisa Thoman and her husband Mell Thoman; her grandson, Ryan Thoman; her brother, Fielding Early Jr. and his wife Carmen Early; her nephew, Edward Early and his wife, Danielle Early; and her great-nephew Charles and great-niece Genevieve.