Crestwood, New York · May 24, 1960
May 24, 1960 · Trailblazer · Hostess · Champion
Class treasurer. CPA. Realtor. The woman who helped her siblings land their first jobs, hosted Thanksgiving across three states, and makes the best chocolate covered pretzels at Christmas.
Every Christmas, without fail — Maryhelen's chocolate covered pretzels. The gift everyone looked forward to most. Some traditions need no explanation.
Every DecemberThe Second of Five
Maryhelen Garst was born on May 24, 1960 in New York City — the second child of Peter and Nancy Garst, growing up first in the Bronx, then Crestwood, where she became a Roosevelt High School track runner and — in her senior year — won a school-wide election to become Class Treasurer. Nobody who knew Maryhelen was surprised. She had always been the one who got things done.
From there, Quinnipiac College (1978–1982) and then Pace University for her Master's (1983–1986), all while beginning a career that would take her from accounting and consulting through technology, hospitality, and eventually real estate — across New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Delaware.
She married Roy Harrison in 1982, and together they had their daughter Cara in 1989 — a cross-country champion, Valedictorian, and now mother to beautiful Emery, born 2024. Maryhelen's legacy runs through every generation it touches.
Maryhelen is engaged to Jamie Rellis, with a wedding planned in Ireland in 2027 — a fitting destination for a woman who has never done anything in the expected way or the expected place.
Over the years, she has hosted countless Thanksgiving dinners across Rhode Island and Maryland — the kind of Thanksgivings families talk about all year. She never missed a chance to show up for Mom and Dad in Florida, and never let distance be an excuse for absence.
"You didn't just blaze a trail for yourself — you reached back and pulled the rest of us forward." — Her Family
When Ed needed his first New York City job, Maryhelen coached him on resumes and introduced him to headhunters. That is who she has always been — not just successful herself, but making success easier for the people she loves.
Family Archive
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The Things That Made Maryhelen, Maryhelen
The Christmas Pretzels
Every year. Without exception. Maryhelen's chocolate covered pretzels at Christmas — the gift everyone counted on, the tradition that needed no announcement. Some things you just know are coming, and you look forward to them all year.
Thanksgiving Hostess
Rhode Island. Maryland. Wherever Maryhelen lived, the family came for Thanksgiving. She hosted with warmth and grace across states and decades, making every table feel like the one everyone had always been meant to sit at.
The Open Door in Ridgefield
Almost newly married, and somehow — one sibling moved in. Then two. Then three, some with with a boyfriend or girlfriend in tow on weekends. Their home became the family's unofficial headquarters when Mom and Dad headed to Florida. Full house. That was always Maryhelen.
Class Treasurer
Senior year at Roosevelt — Maryhelen ran for Class Treasurer in a school-wide student election and won. Her first campaign. Her first victory. Not her last either direction.
The Saab
Her first car was a 1982 Saab 900 — a European car with a manual, given as a graduation surprise by Roy. She went from passenger to driver overnight, mastering a 5-speed at a time when most Americans had never heard of a Saab. Very Maryhelen.
Cara & Emery
Daughter Cara — cross-country champion and Valedictorian — is now a mother herself to Emery, born 2024. Three generations of strength, grace, and determination. Maryhelen started something that keeps going.
A Career Across Industries
Maryhelen's career is the story of a woman who refused to be defined by one thing. She started in accounting — Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co in Manhattan in the 1980s, one of the most prestigious firms in the world. She consulted for PepsiCo, worked at Nolan Norton & Company, and ran her own consulting firm, MHG Consulting.
She consulted for WIMCO — West Indies Management Company, a luxury villa rental agency based in Newport — bringing her precision and client instincts to the world of high-end Caribbean and European travel. And when real estate called, she answered: licensed with Keller Williams in Maryland and Delaware, then Northrop Realty at the Delaware Beaches from 2022 onward.
She also worked earlier in her career at the American Cancer Society and Textron, always bringing the same combination of rigor, intelligence, and people sense that made her formidable in every room she entered.
The Education
Everywhere She Made a Home