Helen Janeway Gilbreath

Helen Janeway Price Gilbreath, affectionately known as “Skee” by her friends and family, passed away on November 23, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Skee was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, in 1922, to Brig. Gen. Augustine (Gus) and Helen Janeway. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Valley Forge, where her father’s family had lived since 1790. Following in her mother’s footsteps, Skee graduated from the Oldfields School in Maryland in 1940.

As the adventurous daughter of a general, Skee, unsurprisingly, joined the Air Transport Command in Washington D.C., after making her debut in Philadelphia. She was trained as a cryptographer, working to decode secret messages during World War II. Later recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Skee was ordered to London in December 1943, traveling there on the New Amsterdam, a “blacked out” troop ship carrying more than 7,000 soldiers and five women. In London, she met the love of her life, Captain Lee Price from Swainsboro, Georgia. When Lee was sent to Norway as the U.S. liaison with the head of the Norwegian Underground, Skee accompanied him as his assistant.

At the end of the war, Skee and Lee married in Oslo, Norway, the bride given away by the American Ambassador to Norway. The couple moved back to the states where Lee joined his father’s law firm and later served as a vice president at the Coca-Cola Company. While married to Lee, Skee quickly plunged into a life of civic leadership and of raising her four beloved children in Buckhead. In 1962, Lee preceded Skee in death.
In the early 1970s, Skee married A.J. “Jay” Gilbreath, a devoted husband and wonderful grandfather to her grandchildren. Skee and Jay spent many happy years visiting their cabin in the North Carolina mountains, reveling in the local culture and making friends everywhere they went. Jay passed away in 1998.

Skee loved the outdoors: boating, fishing, hunting, gardening, and bird watching. She could steer any boat in a storm. She was a gifted, humorous story teller, and until her last days was regaling her family with amusing anecdotes of her fascinating life. Skee was proud of her heritage and her family’s service to the United States. She was a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America, The Society of the Lees of Virginia, a Founding Member of the Board of the Alliance Theatre, member of the Mimosa Garden Club, and a lifetime patron of The Atlanta Opera.

Skee is survived by her four children: Laetitia Price Davis (Cantey), Clark Janeway Price (Amy), Julia Price George, and VanDyke Gulick Price (Cindy); five grandchildren: William Price Muir (Anna), John Shepherd Muir (Charlotte), Sarah Price Barnes (Ley), Lee VanDyke Price (fiancé Laura), and Cynthia Janeway Price. She was preceded in death by her beloved granddaughter Julia Muir Harlan (Chad). In addition, she leaves behind six great grandchildren as well as many nieces and nephews.

A graveside service will be held for family and friends on Monday, December 2, at 2:00 PM, at Arlington Memorial Park, 201 Mt. Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, Georgia.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Julie’s Dream (Juliesdream.org), a 501C3 nonprofit organization founded by the family and friends of Julie Muir Harlan with a mission to provide disadvantaged youth the hope and love of Jesus Christ through wilderness experiences and outdoor adventures.