Helen
Helen T. Ortiz
d. June 6, 2020
Helen Ortiz, daughter to Ralph and Teresa Medina, wife to Wilson Ortiz, mother to Edna Ortiz, Rafael Ortiz, Wilson Ortiz (Sharon), Maria Ortiz and Linda (Joseph) Condon, sister of Dorothy Trapani and grandmother to 5, passed in her home in Port St. Lucie, Florida on June 6, 2020, after multiple battles with cancer, with her daughter and son nearby.
Helen was born in Brooklyn and a graduate of Jamaica Vocational High School in Queens, NY. She was a dedicated daughter to parents she called by the first names, Tessie and Ralph. She worked for Continental Insurance Co., where she sat by a window that would change her life. Across from her building worked her future husband, who saw her from afar and began waving to her daily. One day he took a chance and waited for her. They would marry and spend 56 years together after that first friendly gesture.
Helen was a homemaker who cherished her family. She and her husband settled first in the Bronx, which she always credited for her “attitude.” There she cared for her husband and his two children and then began her family with Wilson having three children together. Eventually, they moved to Long Island, where they owned their first home. She cared for over 85 children as a babysitter out of her home in Centereach, NY where she lived and raised her family for almost 30 years.
She was the epitome of selfless, kindness personified, putting everyone ahead of herself always. She was a faithful Catholic and said a rosary and a prayer for those who had no one daily. She loved the holidays and created a winter wonderland each Christmas with her massive collection of decorations. She was sentimental, saving all her children’s milestone items, drawings and cards. She was also an avid wrestling fan. She loved listening to music, gardening, crime shows, NY Mets baseball and always put on her makeup and jewelry before she’d leave the house. She had a smile for everyone and loved to talk, despite introverted tendencies.
She will be loved forever and missed by all who knew her. Burial at Holy Sepulchre, Coram.
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