Helena Dolores Dragos- Connors

Helena “Helen” Dolores Tomcik Dragos-Connors departed the world gracefully on February 21, 2026, holding her daughter’s hand, after living a life of kindness, love, compassion, and generosity for all she met. After more than four decades living in Coronado, CA, she spent her final three years in La Mesa, CA, in assisted living and memory care.

An avid reader and learner, Helena was born in April 1937 in Pennsylvania as one of five children, and graduated high school with high grades, bookkeeping, typing and shorthand skills, an inquisitive mind, and limited higher education opportunities due to finances and location. An independent and tenacious soul, she joined the U.S. Navy and became a highly respected secretary for an admiral in Corpus, Christi, TX, and was personally recruited to be secretary for a captain at Maguire Air Force Base, NJ, where she was the only woman working in the office, landing this choice role on the basis of her merit.

After nearly seven years in the Navy, during which she traveled the U.S., graduated from modeling and charm school, and efficiently supported Navy offices, she met and married then First Class Petty Officer Octavian “Tate” Dragos in 1961, and started a new chapter as a dedicated military spouse, traveling with him to stations in the Philippines; New Jersey; Guam; Pensacola, FL; Bremerton, WA; Coronado, CA; and Japan.

When Tate honorably retired from the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander, they returned to Coronado in 1974 with their two young children and created a warm and open home, becoming well-known Coronado residents and parents, very actively involved in soccer programs, scout troops, music and dance programs, and school volunteering, notably serving as band booster parents at Coronado High School for many years. Tate passed away in 1991, at age 59, which was a devastating loss for Helen and the family.

She truly enjoyed her more than 30-year career selling fine jewelry at Gold N’ Gifts on Orange Avenue in Coronado. Her graciousness and curiosity about people and their stories created so many lasting connections. Through this, she met her second husband, Arthur Connors, a retired Navy resident of Coronado, whom she married in 1997 and cared for through their marriage and his illness until his death in 2021.

Above all, she especially loved her grandchildren, and cherished her time with them, from helping with the birth of her second granddaughter, to school pickups and homework and sleepovers with story times, to holidays, vacations, and birthday celebrations with the family. She is so loved and will be so missed by them.

She is survived by her son, Damon Dragos of San Gabriel, CA (Mara); daughter, Nicole Dragos Clement of San Diego, CA (Mark); grandchildren Marisa Dragos, Madeline Clement, Caroline Dragos, and Max Clement; sister Betty Christy; brother Joseph Tomcik; and many nieces and nephews and their children.

She will be interred with Tate, with a memorial service to be held on Friday, May 1, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, CA.

In honor of Helena, please consider donating to literacy programs such as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, or organizations that support disabled American veterans.