Obituary for Helen E. Chamberlin (Diehl)
Helen Elizabeth Chamberlin passed away peacefully on April 27, 2020 at the Pines Nursing Facility in Poughkeepsie, New York, at the age of 95.
Helen was born in the Bronx, New York to parents John and Hazel (Sehring) Diehl on February 17, 1925.
She graduated from Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx in 1943 and worked as an executive secretary for the National Biscuit Company for 17 years.
On April 25, 1959 at St. Peter’s Church in the Bronx, Helen married her “Piano Man,” Elmer H. Chamberlin, with whom she joined in Heaven to celebrate their sixty-first wedding anniversary.
The couple settled in Wappingers Falls in the 1960s, where they raised their two daughters, Gail and Linda. Helen was a member of the Strawberry Hill Ladies’ Home Bureau Craft Club, School Volunteer and Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader with her best friend, Marion Smalley. Before relocating to Poughkeepsie Helen spent 40 years in her beloved home on Merrywood Road. There, she fostered memories of holidays, birthdays and dinners that are so cherished by those who survive her. She often reminisced on days there, minding her grandchildren, which she fondly described as a privilege in her life.
Helen was a devoted and loving mother and grandmother. She lives on in the hearts she leaves behind: her two daughters, Gail Copeland of Poughkeepsie and Linda O’Hare and her husband Stephen of LaGrangeville; her four grandchildren, Melinda Copeland Rodriguez (Danny), Daniel, Elizabeth and Erin O’Hare and her “buddy,” and favorite grand-dog, Fagan.
A private graveside service will take place at Fishkill Rural Cemetery. A Memorial Mass will be announced at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of the McHoul Funeral Home, Inc. Please visit Helen’s Book of Memories at www.mchoulfuneralhome.com.
Helen was born in the Bronx, New York to parents John and Hazel (Sehring) Diehl on February 17, 1925.
She graduated from Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx in 1943 and worked as an executive secretary for the National Biscuit Company for 17 years.
On April 25, 1959 at St. Peter’s Church in the Bronx, Helen married her “Piano Man,” Elmer H. Chamberlin, with whom she joined in Heaven to celebrate their sixty-first wedding anniversary.
The couple settled in Wappingers Falls in the 1960s, where they raised their two daughters, Gail and Linda. Helen was a member of the Strawberry Hill Ladies’ Home Bureau Craft Club, School Volunteer and Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader with her best friend, Marion Smalley. Before relocating to Poughkeepsie Helen spent 40 years in her beloved home on Merrywood Road. There, she fostered memories of holidays, birthdays and dinners that are so cherished by those who survive her. She often reminisced on days there, minding her grandchildren, which she fondly described as a privilege in her life.
Helen was a devoted and loving mother and grandmother. She lives on in the hearts she leaves behind: her two daughters, Gail Copeland of Poughkeepsie and Linda O’Hare and her husband Stephen of LaGrangeville; her four grandchildren, Melinda Copeland Rodriguez (Danny), Daniel, Elizabeth and Erin O’Hare and her “buddy,” and favorite grand-dog, Fagan.
A private graveside service will take place at Fishkill Rural Cemetery. A Memorial Mass will be announced at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of the McHoul Funeral Home, Inc. Please visit Helen’s Book of Memories at www.mchoulfuneralhome.com.