Helen Victoria Sawicki was born June 29, 1930 to her parents, Michaline Andrezewski and Felix Sawicki (Polish immigrants). She lived in Chester, PA with her 5 brothers, Felix, John, Charles, Frank and Joseph.   A sixth brother, Stanley died before she was born. When she was just a baby, her father a carpenter, was killed in a construction accident.

She graduated from Chester High school. She married Walter Nowak in 1952 and was blessed with three children Evelyn, Loretta and Joan. The family resided in Brookhaven, PA.

She learned many skills in her lifetime, starting as a payroll clerk at Scott Paper Company, working as a Licensed Practical Nurse and teaching at catholic grade schools. She received her Bachelors Degree in Economics from Pennsylvania Military College (PMC), Chester, PA and her Masters Degree in Education from St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, PA.   Helen was one of the first women to graduate from PMC in 1968.   She went on to work for the federal government in executive positions within the EPA, the Marine Corps and the Departments of Defense and Labor.   After retiring she became an Aide to Senator Clarence Bell of PA.

Helen was very active in the Pennsylvania Opera Company being a charter member and helped create and support the James Parkinson Scholarship Fund.

After the death of her husband in 1993, she moved to her beach home in Margate, NJ.   In 1999, she became a 'snowbird' and bought a home in Spring ,TX to be near her daughters, Loretta and Joan. She added up air line miles visiting her family in Delaware.

While in Texas, she became very active in the St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church community. She joined many ministries including Senior Friends, St Joseph's Altar, Second Family, Bereavement, Women 's Club, KoC Women' s auxiliary and Christmas Angels . She loved to sell food tickets and help with the Silent Auction at the annual Fall Festival.

Helen was an avid reader, crossword puzzler, gardener and walking enthusiast, making sure she logged her 10,000 steps daily.   She was a world traveler along with her loyal travel companion/daughter Loretta.   She had been on a few pilgrimages, ocean cruises, land tours, a river cruise and even toured across Canada on the Rocky Mountaineer. Her exploits include the Holy Land, Poland, Estonia, Prague, Russia, Africa, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Monaco, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Costa Rica, Columbia, Panama and England. She even attended the Wimbledon tournaments. One of her favorite places to visit for its beauty was Alaska. She had a rare opportunity to dip her toes into the Arctic Ocean and enjoy the land of the midnight sun.

Her most memorable trip was when she treated her daughters, grandchildren and their families to a 14 day Mediterranean cruise. The most unique trip was taken with her daughter Joanie to Rome, Italy where they explored the Pope's private garden and had the privilege of a private audience with Pope John Paul II.

Helen also enjoyed many of the wonders of the United States including New England, New Orleans, Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, Outer Banks, NC, San Francisco and Disney World.

Helen had a strong faith in God whose determination, positive attitude and optimism was an inspiration to many people. She made friends easily and was a loyal friend with a caring heart who always was willing to share. Her priority was to ensure her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren had what they needed to succeed in life. Helen will be dearly missed but her memories will live on in our hearts forever.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband Walter and daughter, Joan Elizabeth. She is survived by daughters Loretta Tenowich (Spring, TX), Evelyn King (Michael) (Newark, DE), grandsons William, Daniel, granddaughters Angela, Marilyn Donahue (Matthew), and great grandchildren, Madison and Joshua McCarthy and Liam Donahue