Helouise Dalen

Helouise was born September 18, 1939, to Ludwig Buschbaum and Rakimah Rakio in Paramaribo, Suriname. She was one of five children: Therese, Harold, Robby, and Helen. She told stories recalling nature, family, food, music, and community when describing the best of her childhood. She gleefully described family parties filled with joy and laughter well into the night.

She married John Dalen in 1959, and they had three children: Joany, Jesse (both born in Suriname), and Nandi (born in New York). John immigrated to the United States in 1961 and was joined by Helouise in 1963, followed by Joany and Jesse in 1969. They began the American chapter of their lives in Brooklyn but ultimately moved to the Bronx for a fresh start in newly built Co-Op City after a devastating fire. Eventually, the family relocated to a home in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, where Helouise and her children made many lifetime friends.

Helouise began her career with the City of New York in 1974 (she proudly saved her first paycheck). She started her 35-year career as a Principal Administrator with the Office of the Actuary of the Teachers' Retirement System while pregnant with her youngest child. She fondly remembered the baby shower her generous new coworkers threw for her. Over her career, she received multiple promotions, certifications, and accolades and even stayed with the TRS well past her anticipated retirement age.

Once she retired, she spent more time with her family, including her grandchildren. She pursued her favorite hobbies: gardening, crocheting, cooking, word search puzzles, and hunting down the best deals while shopping. She was an active member of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi and RAIN senior center before relocating to Florida after her health began to decline. There, she found her final church home at St. David Catholic Church in Davie.

On the morning of January 15, 2023, after a week-long stay in the hospital under the caring eyes of her children Jesse and Joany, Helouise transitioned peacefully with her daughter, Nandi, holding her hand. She leaves behind her brother Robby Buschbaum; her children, Joany Dalen, Jesse Dalen, and Nandi Smythe; her daughter-in-law Maxine Dalen; and her six grandchildren: Bryan, Kinshasa, Joseph, Catherine, Regina andIsaac. She is greatly missed by her family and all who knew her.

The family wants to acknowledge every act of kindness shown throughout Helouise's illness and since her untimely passing. Please honor her legacy through acts of compassion, giving, and, of course, a life well-lived.

To livestream click on the link below:

http://Iriefamilyservice.com