Helen Dorothy Jean Olear Brinza, 89, of Pensacola, Florida, died on Thursday afternoon, June 18th. Her passing was peaceful. She had been struggling for some time with deteriorating health conditions. Her daughter, Shawn, was at her bedside.
Helen was born in Greensboro, Pennsylvania, on January 13th, 1926. Her parents, Frank Olear and Mary Gregan Olear, came to America from Czechoslovakia. She had a half brother, Martin Gregan, and two half sisters, Mary Gregan and Mildred Gregan Messich. She also had a brother, Andrew Olear and sister, Agnes Olear Marini. All of her siblings preceded her in death.
Helen was gifted in music and was sought after as a popular vocalist in high school, singing at special school events and programs. She graduated from Mapletown High School in Mapletown Pennsylvania in 1944. She went from there to become a vocalist in various Big Bands traveling to on the East coast and the Mid-west where she eventually met up in Detroit with the man she would marry, Richard Brinza. He was a trumpet player in the same band. They were married for nearly 50 years. Richard preceded her in death in 1997.
Helen is survived by her four children: Shelley Ann, Robin Nancy, Randall Andrew and Shawn Maria. She is survived by 7 grandchildren: Christiaan, Brandon and Travis Sparks; Austin Hulse; Jessica Underwood McFall, Andrea Underwood Baden and Carmen Blaire Walker-Brinza. There are also 12 great-grandchildren: Austin, Kyan, Lillian, Ceara, Gage, Quinn, Dexter, and Landon Sparks; Zachary and Aiden McFall; Jocelyn and Rowan Baden. Helen was definitely a “cat person” and leaves behind a calico who adored her. Cali will miss her very much.
Helen enjoyed cooking and loved cooking for her family. She took charge of cooking at every holiday and was always trying new recipes. Even at Thanksgiving last year, you found her in the kitchen at the age of 88, vigorously supervising all that was going. We will miss that as we move forward.
She couldn’t sit still without doing something with her hands and as a result she did wonderful knitting, cross stitch, embroidery and quilting. She stitched baby quilts for each of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her latest quilt took 3rd place at the State Fair in 2013.
Helen was an avid reader and I don’t mean romance novels. She read the classics and she really enjoyed reading political books and articles. She was a staunch democrat and would argue her views with you until she was hoarse and for anyone debating with her. There was no changing her mind, but she always respected the opinion of her opponent.
When she moved to Florida, Helen became a very active member in the HomeCrafters Guild. When she joined the group, she was one of the youngest members. When the group disbanded in 2014, she was one of the oldest members. This group of ladies took on projects that assisted other groups in need, such as knitting caps and booties for preemie babies, care packages for the troops, pin cushion dolls or blankets for the homeless.
Helen was a long time parishioner of Little Flower Catholic Church in Pensacola. When she could no longer get around, she received the Eucharist from the visiting Eucharist Minister as often as possible.
Helen had a sense of humor. A fun little story from childhood goes like this: Her son, Randy, started getting in trouble at a very early age. When he was very small he would go down to the creek behind the house and come back covered in mud. Every day he would go and every day he would get in trouble. After a while, he started getting a spanking when he got home to discourage his behavior. But the call of the creek was just too great. Eventually, as he returned home, he knew he would be in trouble and so could be heard yelling from the bottom of the hill, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, mom! Don’t beat me, don’t beat me!!” Randy turned out OK and we all love him very much. In the last stages of her life, mom depended on him and especially on our sister, Shawn to help her. They made the last years of her life the best they could be.
Services for Helen will be held at Oak Lawn Funeral Home, 619 New Warrington Road, Pensacola, FL, 32506 on Wednesday, June 24. Visitation will be from 3PM to 5PM. There will be a funeral Mass following the visitation, at Little Flower Catholic Church, 6495 Lillian Highway, Pensacola, FL, 32506 at 5:30PM. After Mass, friends and relatives can meet at the Brinza home. Please call for directions if you need them. Interment will take place at a later time in Greensboro, Pennsylvania. In lieu of flowers, contribution can be sent to the American Heart Association. For further information, please contact the Brinza family at 850-455-3099.
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