Helen Lincoln Dixon

Wife of Harold Dixon; Loving Mother of Thomas Dixon (Mary), Joseph Dixon (Jennifer), and Amelia Dixon (James Winch); Daughter of Amelia & Joseph Lincoln (deceased); Sister of Patty Krewson (Lyman - deceased), Robert Lincoln (Mary), and Frank Lincoln (Audrey); Survived by her beloved grandchildren Andrew Dixon, Anna Dixon, Kelsey Ciarrocca, Margaret Dixon, Courtney Ciarrocca, Elaina Dixon, Justin Dixon, and Hannah Dixon. Also survived by many dear nieces and nephews and cousins with whom she had very special bonds.

Her parents knew her as “Helen,” her Polish relatives knew her as "Chuchie Helen" (“Aunt Helen” to distinguish her from all the other Helens), Helen's children and grandchildren knew her as “Mom” or “Grandma,” but Albert Einstein knew her as "Das Mosquito" (more on this later).

Helen Maureen Lincoln was born in Hanover Township, PA, near Wilkes-Barre on May 22, 1933, and was the second daughter of two immigrant parents from Poland who worked as a coal miner and seamstress. When she was a teenager, they moved to a farm outside of town in Tunkhannock, PA, and she became a farm girl milking cows before school, taking milk to the dairy, feeding chickens, and tending to animals, but her family was always living paycheck to paycheck. During her childhood, her Polish grandmother lived with them and Helen became fluent in Polish. She would always say, "we didn't have much money, but we had each other." Family was everything to them.

Helen turned 17 on the day she graduated from high school (young for the time) in 1950, and became the first in her family to go to college. She attended Penn State Agricultural College which was remarkably inexpensive due to the Land Grant Act of 1862. She was in the first woman's dormitory at Penn State. Her parents did not have any money to help her with her tuition or expenses - she left for college with one suitcase carrying all her belongings - but Helen was blessed to have a loving and caring extended family that helped her get to and through college. After graduating from Penn State, Helen attended Hahnemann Medical College (now Drexel University) in Philadelphia, PA, and received a degree in Medical Technology on her 21st birthday. She was able to live & work with her great-aunt and great-uncle above their corner grocery store so she could afford to be there.

Helen took a position at Princeton as a medical technologist, and moved there on her own with very little to her name. She worked as a traveling in-home phlebotomist, and treated a patient named Albert Einstein! She visited his home many times to draw blood for studies, earning her the nickname "Das Mosquito." She was always very proud that after he died, she had been given a small piece of Albert Einstein's skull. We were all very skeptical, but she had the evidence to back up her story. While in Princeton, she travelled with her roommate to Buzzard's Bay, MA, and attended English Country Dance Camp, a very brave thing to do for two young women at that time.

Helen decided it was time for a new adventure, which led her to take a job at George Washington University Hospital in Washington DC working as a medical technician. Her rent in Georgetown was only $50/month! And she lived near many influential people - only 1.5 blocks from where the Kennedys lived. At GW, she and one other phlebotomist were responsible for collecting "all the bloods" for the entire hospital every morning. Her best friend in the lab introduced her to Harold Dixon, who became her future husband, and they had 3 adorable toe-head blonde kids - Tom, Joe, and Amelia. She was a stay-at-home mom employing all her frugal capabilities to keep the family afloat. She paid all the bills and structured most of the family camping trips because that's what they could afford. We did not know anything different.

Helen was generous to a fault. Despite not having much extra money themselves, she knew her parents needed help, and would empty her wallet and give them all her cash when leaving her parents' farm on every visit. She also sent half of her income home to her parents to help support her family. She knew that her parents had limited benefits as wage migrants that were trying to make a better life for their children. Helen saw this in her parents' efforts to raise strong independent children and Helen attempted to do the same thing with her own kids.

Helen found her safe place in her Catholic religion and sent her kids to elementary school at St Martin's, where she was a parishioner for over 65 years. She was active in the church choir and Monday night Novena, where she was the volunteer organist for over 40 years - not bad for a girl who started piano lessons at age 6 for only 25 cents per lesson! Helen volunteered at St Martin's Food Pantry for many years and took great satisfaction with helping to feed those in need. This stemmed from her years growing up with limited income but still always seemed to have enough. One of the greatest honors of Helen's life was singing with St Martin's choir for Pope John Paul II, on his first visit to Washington, DC in 1979, as well as receiving Holy Communion from JPII himself during his mass on the National Mall. She was fiercely proud of that moment because she was Polish and he was "their Pope." As she had throughout her life, Helen held on to her Catholic faith even during the covid pandemic, and started attending Sunday mass online at the National Shrine of the the Divine Mercy in western Massachusetts, and continued that as it became more difficult for her to leave the Asbury campus on her own, although she did continue driving until less than 6 months before her death.

When her children were old enough, Helen began substitute teaching for Montgomery County Public Schools, and she found her niche in the most unusual place. She was a highly sought out substitute teacher for industrial arts and auto shop classes at Gaithersburg High School for a number of years. Maybe that was because of her younger brother Frank's affection for cars and auto repair. At some point, Helen's friend Marion convinced her to be an adjunct professor and lab teacher at Montgomery College in Rockville, MD. Helen was a firm but understanding instructor who wanted to instill the love of learning to these young students. As further evidence of the importance of education to both Helen and Harry, Helen resumed her graduate studies that she had started many years before, and earned her Masters' Degree in Education from Trinity College in 2001, with her grandchildren cheering her on.

Helen loved to travel, and she and Harry did many road trips between Rochester, NY (his family) and Tunkhannock, PA (her family) from their Maryland home. They were around for almost all the big family occasions, bringing along their kids back and forth for every 3-day weekend. Additionally, this led to their family vacations camping through the US National Park system and their many train adventures through North America. Harry had been in the Navy so wouldn't get on a boat, and an engine on their plane caught fire on their honeymoon and he also wouldn't get on a plane - so cars and trains were their options for transportation. They travelled all over the United States, which continued into their empty nesting years, and they ultimately ended up purchasing a condo in Vero Beach, FL, and became "snow birds." They loved their winters down in sunny Florida, and invited close and extended family to join them there any time they wanted - just more of that generosity shining through.

Helen had a deep love of sports, and was a staunch supporter of the Maryland Terps - all three of their children graduated from University of Maryland. She was a loyal ticket holder for UMD football games starting in the 1980s and continuing through the early 2020s. But even more important to her was her love for her children and grandchildren. She was always there to support her grandchildren however she could - they were so special, in her eyes. She and Harry lovingly provided daily "Grandma & Papa Care" to six of her eight grandchildren, as well as her other two grandchildren when needed, which seemed to give them both the most joy. As they grew, she loved attending anything involving her grandchildren - music and dance recitals, instrumental and orchestra concerts, award ceremonies, sporting events, graduations - you name it, she was going to be there. She was fiercely proud of everything her children and grandchildren accomplished in their lives. She always encouraged them to never stop learning - in her eyes, an education was the most valuable thing a person could ever have.

As Helen moved on with her life after Harry passed away in 2012, she continued snowbirding to Vero Beach, travelling with family to Cape Cod, visiting Amelia & Jim in Pensacola, her sister Patty and niece Mary and her husband John in Mississippi, and other beach trips to Outer Banks, NC and DE beaches, and even an Alaskan cruise with all of her children and grandchildren. She also made a pilgrimage to visit religious locations in Spain and France with daughter-in-law Mary, and another trip to Iceland with Tom, Mary, Jen & Joe. She loved attending musical theatre shows, and sewing quilts for all her grandchildren and children. She was also an avid reader & enjoyed water exercise classes at Montgomery College and their many lunches as a group afterward. She was especially fond of her occasional day trips to the Live! Casino with Tom, where she enjoyed playing the slots and almost always came out at least a little ahead. And she was one of the luckiest Bingo players we know.

Helen was determined to stay in her home until "she turned up her toes," but it was becoming more difficult with age. Late in life, just before her 90th birthday, and at the urging of her family, she agreed to move out of her home of 37 years into an independent living apartment in Asbury Methodist Village Senior Community in Gaithersburg, MD. During her short time there, she made many friends. She was amazing and knew the names of everyone we saw in the halls when visiting her for weekly brunch every Sunday, something she looked forward to each week. She also really enjoyed Bingo, 40s music singalongs, floor and building coffee socials, a knitting club, and many other activities. We knew she was in failing health, and was getting tired of the daily struggles, but she seemed to still be enjoying time with friends and family, including celebrating her 92nd birthday only 2.5 weeks before her death (the photo on this post) and attending what would be her final Asbury brunch on Sunday, June 1st, despite having to go on oxygen therapy 2 days before.

When it became clear, Helen's health was declining to the point she needed help, our family was so blessed to find Aimex Homecare and Montgomery Hospice, which allowed her to remain in her independent living apartment, with aides who were so loving and caring to Helen, especially during her last week of life when she suddenly needed round the clock care. They treated her like she was family, and to them, she was.

Her final few days on this earth were spent in her apartment surrounded by her children and grandchildren, telling them more stories as she always had until the final day when she could no longer speak. At that point, her grandchildren did piano & viola concerts over FaceTime, sang hymns and recited prayers while holding her hand, and were able to express their final goodbyes and thank you's to a grandmother who had meant so much to all of them in so many ways. Witnessing this love was a true testament to what will ultimately be Helen's legacy - her abundant love for family and generosity towards everyone.

This past week since her death, we have had so many neighbors and good friends stop by to express their condolences, and tell us how much they loved Helen and what a good friend she was to them. This makes our family so happy to know that she enjoyed her last couple years of life in a wonderful community.

Helen will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

FRIDAY JUNE 13, 2025 @ 12:30pm - Funeral Mass at St Martin of Tours Catholic Church, 201 S Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 (https://www.stmartinsweb.org/)

**Eulogy preceding funeral start time ~ approximately 12:20pm **Parking will be very limited due to another service just before ours **Reception to follow at St Martin’s School in same parking lot - Lunch will be served

SATURDAY JUNE 14, 2025 @ 1:30pm Committal Prayer Service (burial) - casual dress, All Souls Cemetery, 11401 Brink Rd, Germantown, MD 20876 (https://ccaw.org/all-souls-cemetery)

**Please notify the family if you plan to attend this service so we can provide an estimate of cars

**After the Prayer Service, the family will gather at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill @ 2:30pm (390 Spectrum Ave, Gaithersburg, MD) for drinks & light refreshments if anyone would like to join them there.

**Please notify the family if you plan on attending the reception as space is limited

HOTEL BLOCK RESERVEDDoubletree by Hilton Washington DC North/Gaithersburg (Block of rooms - Helen Dixon Funeral) 620 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg MD 20877 https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/gaigwdt-hdf-2324c162-8e44-4764-bbc8-bd9d405fba41/

IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, contributions may be made in her name to: St Martin's Food Pantry (serving food insecure families in Montgomery County) at https://membership.faithdirect.net/givenow/MD126/23164; or Central Union Mission (meeting the needs of DC homeless & hurting people) at https://www.missiondc.org/.