Helen Marie Luehman

Helen passed away peacefully early on the morning of May 15, 2020, going to join her beloved husband, Earl, to whom she was married for 70 years. Helen was born November 20, 1920 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was the last living of four siblings born to Helen and Arthur Widmann. She spoke lovingly and often of her siblings, Art, Jeannie and Frank.

Helen and Earl met in junior high school and they married after his graduation from the US Naval Academy in February 1941. Upon graduation Earl was assigned to the USS Helena in Pearl Harbor, where he survived the attack on Pearl Harbor that December. They were separated for most of WWII; Earl was a Naval Aviator in the Pacific, and Helen worked at a torpedo factory in San Francisco.

After the war, as part of Earl’s naval career, they lived in a number of places, including Hawaii, Helen’s favorite. In the 1950’s, they adopted their two children, Jim and Nancy, and the family embarked on a life that

that would take them to California, Washington DC, Trinidad, London, Cold War Moscow, Newport RI, and Athens, Greece. Helen loved assisting Earl in her role as diplomatic wife, and made many lifelong friends from around the world.

It was in Athens where Helen put her passion for travel to work, eventually becoming a co-owner of a travel agency. After Earl’s retirement and their return to the United States, Helen continued in the travel and became a Certified Travel Consultant. Having ridden elephants in the northern India, climbed Machu Picchu and taken safaris in Africa, Helen offered her clients, until her 80s, firsthand knowledge of many of the travel sites the world had to offer.

Helen and Earl retired to a quiet street in Arlington VA, where their greatest joys were travel, golf and most importantly their four grandchildren Liz, Thomas, Lealah and Grace. After Earl passed away in 2011, Helen moved to Knollwood in Washington DC.

To her friends and family, Helen will be lovingly remembered as a caring, optimistic and adventurous person. A lifelong learner, she mastered the hula, learned to play the ukulele, and spoke four languages. She saw beauty and opportunity in every day. She felt at home, and made a home, wherever life took her family. Helen was always grateful for the many blessings in her life. She loved, and was loved, deeply.

In addition to her children and grandchildren Helen is survived by her eight nieces and nephews. Services will be at the USNA at a later date.