Helen’s path could have been pulled from a novel: born in Concord, New Hampshire, raised to adolescence by deaf parents in Greenville, South Carolina, losing her mother to cancer at 16 and being relocated to Brookline Massachusetts. She graduated from Brookline High, then met and started a life with her late husband, Harold “Hal” Gitkind, in New York City, and lived in Chicago, Kansas City, and Minneapolis before finally returning to Massachusetts, with Hal and their three young sons, in 1975. She spent her remaining 43 years there, anchored close to her beloved Atlantic Ocean.
She formed strong connections with like-minded people. She did charity work, joined social causes, and bonded with friends and professional colleagues. She was close to the people who worked for Hal’s businesses, and eventually those who cared for him, and so appreciated the “angels” who helped her in Amesbury and finally her own caregivers as she gracefully dealt with the illness that took her life.
Helen was a lifelong learner, earning a master’s degree in psychology while raising her family and devouring books and what used to be called “educational TV.” Her fascination with the workings of the human mind ran deep and lasted to the final months of her life.
Friends of her sons often referred to Helen as a “cool” mom—she talked to these young adults more than most parents and certainly asked lots of questions. She had a never-ending curiosity about how other people were getting on and her advice helped many find their way through challenging times.
At a point very late in her illness, Helen’s granddaughter Claire thanked her for instilling a love for the ocean. Helen brightened and told Claire she’d always be there, where her family imagines her now; in the spray, the waves, the sand and sky, grateful for a long life and her loving family and free from a weary body.
Helen is survived by her three sons, Mitch, Neil, and Andy, her daughters-in-law Judy, Kristi, and Karen, and her grandchildren Ben, Matt, Claire, Sam, Lena, Anthony, and Gigi.
In lieu of flowers, kindly send donations in Helen’s memory to West River Hospice, 63 Kendrick Street, One Charles River Place, Needham, MA 02494, attention: Eugenia Cahill.
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