Helen Martha Hackett

Helen Martha Hackett went peacefully to the Lord on February 19, 2012 following a lengthy illness. She was 92 years old. Born July 23,1919 in Bay City Michigan, she was the younger of two daughters of John and Mary Szurczak.

She attended St. Stanislaus Catholic School and graduated from Bay City Central High School in 1937. She graduated from Bay City Business College and moved to Mt. Pleasant, MI, where she met her husband of 65 years, Cyril Hackett, through his godparents after Sunday Mass. They married in 1942 and after WWII moved to Indianapolis, IN where Cyril attended Lincoln Chiropractic College. Upon his graduation, they moved to Lansing, where he set up practice, and she worked as an executive secretary for Oldsmobile until they started a family. Her colleagues from Oldsmobile became lifelong friends.

Faith and family were always Helen’s highest priorities. But she also loved fashion and enjoyed keeping up with the latest trends. She considered her profession as a wife and a mother her highest calling and was lovingly devoted to the joys and challenges that came her way. She volunteered for many committees at St. Thomas Aquinas Church and School over the years. She especially enjoyed working on the Christmas Bazaar and trying out new craft projects. She loved to sew and cook, and was well known for her baking skills. Though many have tried, no one has been able to reproduce her perfect pies. She was very proud of her Polish heritage, and shared many of those traditions with her children and grandchildren.

Upon retirement, the couple wintered in Spring Hill and Naples FL to be near their children and grandchildren. They enjoyed round and square dancing and traveling. As experienced and elegant ballroom dancers, Cyril and Helen Hackett were often the first ones on the dance floor and the last ones to leave it.

For many years she was a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, The Altar Society and The Club at Longshore Lake.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Cyril W. Hackett and sister, Marie Jakubiak Aschenbach.

Mrs. Hackett is survived by her children, Mary Eisbrenner and husband Louis of Bath, MI, Karen Koestner Barrow and husband James of Naples, and Robert Hackett and wife Faith, also of Naples. Also surviving are 6 grandchildren: Katy Koestner Esquivel (John), Matthew Koestner (Martine Canfield) and Lauren Barone (Bruce), Joan Eisbrenner, Louis Eisbrenner, and Christian Hackett, step grandson Adam Esquivel, sister-in-law and brother-in-law Bette and Wayne Peterson of Saginaw, Michigan. She is also survived by a large extended family that includes many nieces and nephews and their families that she loved dearly and devotedly visited her during her extended illness.

The family would like to thank the kind and professional nurses, doctors, and staff who cared for her these past years: Burcham Hills Health Care Center, 3rd floor, Right Away Home Staffing (Misty, Mckenzie & Judy), Hospice of Lansing and The Life Care Center of Estero.

Friends and family will be received from 6 until 8 pm on Friday February 24, at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, 1730 East Grand River Avenue, East Lansing, MI 48823, with a Rosary being prayed at 7:30 pm. Funeral Mass will be at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 955 Alton Road, East Lansing, MI 48823 on Saturday February 25 at 11:00 am, entombment to follow at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery.

Helen loved flowers, so flowers are welcome and will be enjoyed by many.

Memorial Contributions may be made to Susan G Komen for the Cure, PO Box 4368, East Lansing, MI 48826; St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church or St. Thomas Aquinas School Restoration Fund, 955 Alton Rd., East Lansing, MI 48823 or Hospice of Lansing, 4052 Legacy Pkwy, Ste 200, Lansing, MI 48911. On line condolences may be made to www.greastlansing.com.