Harry A. Helger Jr., known as "Handsome Harry," died Thursday, September 25, at Somerset Ridge Center in Somerset, Massachusetts. He was 77. Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, Harry was the son of the late Harry A. Helger Sr. and the late Margaret (Canfield) Helger. He lived most of his life in Tiverton, Rhode Island, and his later years in Fall River. A pickup truck struck Harry when he was 5 ½ years old as he stood on the side of Main Road in Tiverton. The truck narrowly missed his two sisters, then 11 and 7, who were waiting with him while their father was walking a cow across the road. The accident left Harry with two broken legs, a fractured nose, ruptured left eye and multiple bruises. He was not expected to survive. But Harry pulled through, missing a year of school while recovering from his injuries. The doctors could not save his eye, so he had to adapt to see the world with his right one. As a young adult, he underwent a series of unsuccessful facial reconstructive surgeries and lived with a disfigured nose for the rest of his life. Harry was a generous and loving uncle. He never forgot the birthdays of his nieces and nephews and was mysteriously never in the room when Santa Claus visited them on Christmas Eve. He took them on countless outings to Lincoln Park in his red 1970 Ford Torino. The first two letters on the car's license plate: HH, for "Handsome Harry." Harry worked as an overnight computer operator at The Miriam Hospital for 23 years, retiring in 2017. He previously worked for many years at the Transcom plant in Portsmouth until it closed. He earned an associates degree in computer programming technology from New England Institute of Technology in 1992. A 1966 graduate of Durfee High School in Fall River, he completed courses in computer programming and general education at Southeastern Massachusetts University and Bristol Community College. Harry leaves a sister, Elaine Landry, and her husband Raymond Landry, of Tiverton; four nieces, Janine L. Weisman of Newport; Suzanne Landry of Scarborough, Maine; Nicole Quetta of North Providence; and Shelly Fagundes of Fall River; two nephews, Kenneth Fagundes and Todd Fagundes, both of Fall River. He was the brother of the late Janet Fagundes.

Arrangements are by Pocasset Memorial Funeral Home, 462 Main Road, Tiverton, where calling hours are Wednesday, October 8, from 5-7 p.m. A graveside service in Hillside Cemetery in Tiverton is at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 9. In lieu of flowers, donations in Harry's memory can be made to the Alzheimer's Association.