Her father died in World War II in what was then Russia - now Lithuania, and was buried in Vilnius.
Helli grew up well protected by her mother Maria and her grandmother Rosa Jahl in Wöllersdorf, despite the turmoil of the 2nd World War. From an early age, the cousins Helli and Helga (daughter of Helli's uncle Roman and Margarete Jahl) shared an intimate friendship until the end, and they spent a wonderful childhood and youth together. After her school education, Helli worked in a jewelry store in Vienna and soon became its manager. In the early 1960s, through mutual friends, she met and fell in love with her future husband Horace Gilbert. In 1966 Helli and Horace married in America and lived from then on in Boston, Cape Cod, St. Thomas, and Santa Barbara.
Nevertheless, they remained closely connected with Wöllersdorf, built a house there and visited Austria twice a year. Horace established a fund to support students from Wöllersdorf. After Horace passed away much too early in Los Angeles on March 19th, 1976, Helli moved to a smaller house in Santa Monica. After overcoming her grief for her beloved husband to some extent, she volunteered in a hospital in LA, in the parish in LA and also helped out in the LA branch of the jeweler she had been employed with in Vienna. As before, Helli came to Wöllersdorf twice a year, where she lovingly cared for her mother and maintained old friendships. Until the death of her mother in 1995, they used to go to LA together for the winter months. Until 2018, Helli visited Austria, was closely connected to the parish and community, met with relatives and friends, went on excursions in the area and took long walks in nature, as well as in Santa Monica on the beach. Due to her illness, she was no longer able to travel and in 2019, with the loving and touching support of her step-granddaughter Mercedes Gilbert, she moved to a seniors' residence in Los Angeles. She liked to live there very much, made new acquaintances and participated in many activities (excursions, concerts, exercise,...). Mercedes and Martina Oberrauch - Helga's granddaughter - kept in touch and made it possible for the cousins Helli and Helga to exchange news via Face-Time until the end.
Sadly, Helli passed away peacefully in her 90th year on March 4th, 2023 in Los Angeles, believing in the resurrection, and was buried with her husband Horace on March 27th, 2023, at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
Helli was a loving, humorous, strong and empathetic personality throughout her exciting life between America and Austria. She will live on in our hearts and we will never forget her!
What remains are love, gratitude and the memories of a wonderful time together.
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