Obituary of Helen Marie Szymanski

Helen Marie was the fourth child born to George and Josephine (Kosieracka) Mlynarczyk on April 16, 1919 in Buffalo, NY and grew up as a city girl. Helen was a devote catholic with Christian values, teaching her eight children in the same way sending them all to parochial school. As a youth she loved to go to the movies and was interested in Jeanette McDonalds William Powell and Ruby Kealer. She enjoyed dancing so much and going out with friends and cousins. Helen was a product of the roaring twenties and the depression of the thirty's. As tough as we think we have it today can we really relate to growing up in the "Great Depression"? At the age of seventeen Helen helped care for her dying sister Rosie whom she admired and loved. Helen worked for nearly five years at Edwards Department Store in the wedding gifts department. She drilled holes at Bell Aircraft to support "Rosie the Riveter" in support the great war effort in World War II, before being swept off her feet by a brash young farmer from Castile, a man she said resembled an actor of the day Spencer Tracey. Ted and Helen married on March 6, 1943, and two children followed successively before they found "Hillview" which was to be home for the remainder of their lives in the Township of Sparta. "Hillview" is the place mom enjoyed most and brought forth the rest of the children. Gardens were mom's specialty, whether they be food or flower, the greatness of those gardens earned her the reputation of having a green thumb, the bounty and beauty abounding most of the landscape at "Hillview" is still a reflection of her work. Helen helped her husband build a small empire they farmed upwards of one thousand acres which was no small feet in that day. Helen Szymanski was a self reliant and god fearing woman, she was frugal, industrious and hard working, a characteristic of that generation. When Ted changed his business emphasis, the family traveled the country and Helen was there to be the best support for both family and business. For the first seven decades of her life Helen lived the American Dream, a city girl finding country life appealing and marrying a man she was so much in love with and having goggles' of children. The last two decades brought challenges of poor health allowing her loved one to be of service to her. In the course of life, there will always be this challenge, we will grow old and as Helen said "growing old is tough. Let's remember to make the passing as best we can". Helen loved her children very much, she was kind, humorous and classy, as an observer put it, "she was a regal woman". She would roar with laughter hearing the recitation of Andy Griffith's "what it is. is football" or Abbott & Costello's "who's on first. She loved listening to Lawrence Welk and the Rev. Robert Schuler, like many she so enjoyed the thrill of slot machines in Vegas and Niagara Falls. So, we say goodbye to Helen in this temporal existence, she will be reunited with her husband, son, sisters and brothers, parents and one day we will meet them as well. Helen often quoted from the bible, but her most notable quote is one ascribed to her was the one she would tell you when parting, "Stay healthy, happy and hafe, and may God Bless You". Helen's family celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Dansville on Friday July 9, 2010. She was interred on the hill she loved so much at Kiehle Cemetery in Sparta. Arrangements were by the Hindle Funeral Home, Inc., 271 Main St., Dansville. Please direct memorial contributions in memory of Helen to the Sparta Center Fire Department.