8 Years of Life Lessons, Love and Friendship….

My dear friend: Helene

You may know her as my adopted grandma, my second mom, or my visually impaired friend from Woodstock, NY, who spent half the year in Scottsdale.

Helene had a HUGE and profound impact on my life over the last eight years. We met on December 11, 2018, when I was matched with her as a volunteer through an organization that connected volunteers with homebound seniors. I had volunteered with this organization for years. What started as a volunteer relationship quickly turned into something very special. Helene became one of my very best friends and, truly, a second mom to me in my adult years. She felt like family.

As many people know, I’ve always bonded with “old ladies and babies,” and she was a firecracker who was born in November 1945.

We spoke every single day for the last several years.

Sadly, Helene left this physical world on September 5, 2026.

As you know, I find writing to be a form of healing and therapy. And as I sit here experiencing my first Nor’easter on Cape Cod, trying to put into words what Helene meant to me, I realize just how many lessons she taught me in the relatively short time our lives intersected. More than many other teachers I’ve had throughout my life.

I will never forget calling my mom in tears after leaving Helene’s home the very first time I met her. I was overwhelmed by so much emotion. Here was this widowed woman, living alone after losing her husband and her sister, completely blind, and doing everything for herself.

But Helene quickly taught me something very important: No need to pity me. She was a fierce individual who never gave up.

She was the most determined, self-sufficient, relentless, wise, educated, independent, loving, generous, and strong humans I had ever met.

Helene had lost her vision 15 years earlier because of an autoimmune condition. Yet somehow, she appreciated life more than most people I’ve ever known. She was a bright ray of joyful sunshine, endlessly optimistic, and SO positive. She always saw the glass as overflowing. She had a heart of gold. And honestly, I could go on and on. She was always SO active. She took Pilates, yoga, and even had a personal trainer, many of her sessions on Zoom, along with some classes in person.

I’ll never forget my first visit to stay with her in Woodstock, NY, at her bright, cheerful yellow house. We hiked and walked so many trails, and I quickly learned that Helene knew those trails like the back of her hand from when she could see. She had one of those canes… and she was a PRO with it.

She would stop on these insanely gorgeous, breathtaking trails and say, “Describe to me what you see.”

I became her storyteller, describing the scenery through her eyes of imagination. She had incredible hearing and an amazing sense of smell, and she would take in the world through all of her other senses. I would paint the picture with words. She heard all the waterfalls flowing and the voices of people approaching. We had such a unique language together.

It was honestly one of the most incredible exercises we shared, whether we were hiking, walking, or just out and about in town. She wanted the details. All of them. I loved every minute.

She would tell me so many stories about the locals after we visited with them, because everyone in Woodstock knew her and would come up to say hi. Everyone LOVED Helene. And she loved everyone.

And then there was her unbelievable sense of direction.

Helene could navigate around town by sensing where we were. She knew every landmark and could somehow guide me while I was driving, based on how long it had been since I turned out of the driveway, stopped at a stop sign, or passed a certain point. I was fascinated by her abilities and her memory.

It was like genius-level brilliance!

That first trip was so life-changing for me. It gave me an even deeper appreciation for staying positive, living fully, and experiencing life from a happy, carefree place. I was already a pretty chipper person and knew who I was, but Helene had figured out how to enhance her world and always find the silver lining. And I mean, the stories can go on and on….Our time in Arizona too.

The wisdom she shared with me from her spiritual and New Age life experiences added such richness to the person I am. She would make me say mantras and write them down whenever I was facing a challenging time in my life. She had a way of giving me exactly what I needed, often before I even realized I needed it. She was truly one of a kind.

She was also Jewish, yet more spiritually connected than religious. That was another thing we shared, and I loved learning from the way she viewed the world.

To share more of her actual background and details about the incredible woman whose presence I was blessed to have in my life for these precious, priceless years….

Helene discovered Transcendental Meditation, or TM, in 1970. She eventually became a trainer and traveled all over the world with her husband and her best friend, Nancy, attending retreats and workshops. TM was a huge part of her life.

Nancy was her spirit sister and best friend, and she was also someone who spoiled me with the yummiest, most elaborate dinners whenever I visited Woodstock.

What a pair these two were. They had been friends for more than 50 years. Thankfully, I’m still connected to Nancy. A true gift.

The two of them remind me so much of my friend Rachel and me. They have a history together and are connected like family. There is something so special about a friendship that grows and evolves over decades and becomes family in its own way.

Helene later found a new focus in a personal development program called Loving Relationships Training, or LRT. After becoming proficient in the program, she and her husband developed a children’s curriculum.

You see, Helene was a kindergarten and first-grade teacher, and her husband was also an educator. And, go figure, both of their children are teachers today. Such a warm, giving, kind and genuine family.

The LRT work focused on teaching children healthy emotional expression and positive self-esteem. And talk about LUCKY ME to have been surrounded by a woman who had spent her life learning, growing, teaching, and helping others do the same.

She truly supported me and taught me some of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned. She was my built-in, free therapist from the moment our paths crossed.

I rented her Scottsdale condo the year she was unable to return while going through her treatment in NYC after being diagnosed the year before. She fought the best fight!!! This woman was a true BADASS!!! In every way!!!

I was SO looking forward to my two weeks with her this month returning for my fourth summer season in Woodstock at the YELLOW house with my HAPPY, shiny, bright friend.

But Hashem had different plans for my dear friend, Helene.

She crossed to the other side of life peacefully surrounded by her family on September 5th. I was blessed to be with her friends and family in Woodstock for her beautiful and deeply meaningful funeral on September 8th, followed by the shiva ceremony at her home that evening. Her son, Devan, gave the most incredible eulogy. I have a copy of the five typed pages, as he eulogized her with humor, love, and sincere, genuine perfection.

I could not stop sobbing, smiling, and laughing while sitting beside Nancy. Being in Helene’s house without her was difficult. Yet somehow, her happy, positive energy was still felt.

Everyone who was blessed to know this lady truly loved her. She had a gift for making everyone feel like the most important person in the room.

Thankfully, many of my friends and family got to know Helene and appreciate her too. You see, Helene cared deeply about everyone she knew, and even people she simply knew about. She always asked about everyone and how they were doing. She remembered the details. She genuinely cared. Life feels empty without her voice.

My mornings are definitely a bit empty, especially while I’m on the East Coast, because our daily morning call was such a part of my life. Hug the ones you love. Tell them how much you care and appreciate them. And cherish all that you have.

I love each and every one of you reading this right now. If you are on this list, you are important to me. I’m signing off as the woman Helene saw me as. She always called me a renaissance woman. I’ve never had someone so interested in every detail of my life, who remembered it all, every detail, always. Her memory was a true gift. She made me feel seen, heard, and important.

I will miss her eternally and cherish her FOREVER!!!

Until the September wrap-up blog post…

Hugs and Love,
Laurie Sue

AKA… Dora the Explorer!