- Date Of Birth: May 9, 1938
- Date Of Death: June 9, 2023
- State: New Jersey
Helen Marie Tevnan Leonard was born on May 9, 1938 to Irish immigrants Nora and James Tevnan. She, her parents and her beloved older brother Tom lived on Dykeman Street in Upper Manhattan. Nearby were aunts, uncles and cousins: Nora’s sister (Mary Ellen), her two brothers (Martin and John), and James’ sister (Anne). Helen attended Good Shepherd School where she excelled as a student, and lived the life of a typical city kid of the 40s and 50s: working at the Chinese laundry until her mother saw her behind the counter, reading voraciously during the blackouts of WW2, and trying desperately to keep up with her beloved older brother as he (seven years older) and his friends ran through alleys and over walls to evade unanticipated dogs.
When our mother graduated from 8th grade, her parents purchased an old farm house and barn and moved to Bohemia, Long Island. There she maintained her city kid smarts while adapting to the much slower pace of Bohemia while attending Sayville High School. After graduating at the top of her class, her well-intentioned parents misapprehended the efficacy of providing a college education for a girl and so after a hard won, yet exhausting, semester commuting from the Island to Hunter College she dropped out. Fortunately, a friend recommended applying for a job at nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory, where she became fascinated with science and met researchers from all over the world.
In 1970, Helen’s life changed again when George had an opportunity to teach members of the American military in Italy and Turkey. Helen studied Italian before the journey to be conversant; this worked out well when she convinced the principal of an Italian school to allow Melissa and Christa to enroll because she thought it would be a multi-faceted experience for them for live as typical Italian children. The family traveled all over Europe in free moments and lived in Turkey the following semester where Helen developed her love of antique Middle Eastern copper and handwoven carpets.
Back in Michigan, Helen returned to University to work on her Master’s Degree in Gerontology, eventually beginning to work part-time at the Grosse Pointe Public Library as well as active community member. When George passed away suddenly in 1980, Helen took a job as a full-time librarian and became a proud Union member as she continued to raise Melissa and Christa.
Helen became an ardent member of Zonta, a professional women’s organization dedicated to advocating for the human rights, safety and education of women and girls world-wide. Helen devoted herself in the Detroit area to eradicating violence against and sex trafficking of women and girls. She expanded her circle of friends to include her Zonta “sisters” whom she held most dear and traveled all over the world to attend conferences.
When Melissa and Christa began their own families, Helen relished her new role as Nana. She adored each of her five grandchildren and eventually moved back to the East Coast, always a New York City girl, to be close to her daughters and their families. She loved being back in the East where she could again have her fill of Broadway productions; opera and jazz; and museums.
She taught us how to be resilient, good-humored, passionate, devoted to social justice, intellectually curious, loving, generous, dog lovers, travelers, appreciative of our blessings and observant of the world around us. She made sure we always had annual time together by scheduling annual trips to Cape May Point where she adored sitting on the beach with her omnipresent books, watching the children roughhouse in the surf and playing take-no-prisoners’ games of Scrabble.
After a valiant year-long battle with cancer, Helen peacefully passed away in her home on Thursday June 8, 2023 with Melissa, Christa and Olivia, one of her granddaughters, by her side. She is survived by her daughters and their spouses Sara Winthrop and John Swartz; her grandchildren Ian and Olivia Langol-Leonard and Roscoe, Jack and Ava Swartz; and nieces, nephew, cousins and many friends.
