Helen Zielinski, 98, of Seymour died peacefully, Thursday, April 6, 2017, at Shady Knoll Health Center, Seymour.
She was born January 9, 1919, the beloved daughter of Joseph and Rose Rzeszutek Barber.
She grew up in an 1840s farmhouse in Oxford. Helen attended a one-room schoolhouse that she walked to a mile away. She grew up during the depression years and graduated from Seymour High School, class of 1935. She worked as a bookkeeper at Benny Sochrin’s Cleaners in Seymour. Helen met the love of her life, Joseph, through his brother, Bruno on an Easter Sunday. They married on November 15, 1941.
Helen was a devout communicant of St. Augustine’s Church of Seymour where she was a member of the League of the Sacred Heart and of the Resurrection Choir. She routinely watched her daily mass on TV when she could no longer attend church. Helen was an avid homemaker who loved to cook and bake for her family, who were the center of her life. She enjoyed spending her free time gardening, crocheting, rug braiding, playing Pinochle, and traveling with her husband and family – including to India, Turkey, Italy, England, Hawaii, Alaska, Ireland, and many other places. She was also a member of the Oxford Senior Center.
Her family includes her devoted children: daughter Marjorie Madhani and her husband, Arun, daughter Janet Konicki and her husband, John, son William Zielinski and his wife, Mila, all of Oxford, and daughter Karen Solana and her husband, Richard, of Richmond, VA; her cherished grandchildren, Dina Madhani, William and Shannon Zielinski, Sheela Madhani, Jeanne Konicki-Castillo and Isaac Castillo, Michael and Hristina Zielinski, Amy and Dave Trost, David Solana, and Kimberly Solana; and her precious great-grandchildren.
She also leaves her sister Irene Dziadik and her sister-in-law Frances Karpus, both of Seymour. She was predeceased by her brother, John Barber of Oxford.
The family wishes to thank the hard-working nurses, aides, and staff of Shady Knoll Health Center for their devoted care, and also to thank the many friends and relatives who visited with Helen during the last years of her life.
A Mass of Christian Burial in Celebration of Helen’s Life will be held on Tuesday, April 11 , 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (DIRECTLY) at St. Augustine Church, 35 Washington Ave., Seymour. Interment will be in St. Augustine Cemetery, Seymour.
Friends and relatives may call on Monday, April 10 ‚2017 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at The Miller-Ward Funeral Home, 260 Bank St. (Rt. 67, opposite Klarides Village) Seymour.
Memorial gifts may be made in Helen’s memory to St. Augustine’s Church, Seymour, CT, through the funeral director.
To light a virtual candle or to leave condolences, please visit www.millerwardfuneralhome.com.
