Predeceasing Helen are her parents: Charles Roger (1973) and Dorothy Menoa Davis-Knickerbocker (1999); two older brothers: Roger (1990) and Charles Knickerbocker (1988); and her older sister, Charlotte White (2018). They are united again and most likely playing a game of Pitch, laughing and smiling.
Surviving Helen is her husband, Raul [aka Sandy] Sandoval; their three daughters: Dorothy [aka Dodie] Sandoval (Jean Geary) of Cherry Valley, CA; Tonia Mickey (David) of Thermal, CA; and Star Sandoval of Bentonville, AR; their four grandchildren: Austin Ormand (Elizabeth) of Bentonville, AR; Monty Ellingboe of Aurora, CO; Amber Ormand-Goers (Justin) of Austin, TX, and Tommy Mickey of Grand Junction, CO; and the youngest member of the family a great-granddaughter Mabry of Bentonville, AR.
Helen was born in Syracuse, New York. Growing up in Cardiff Village. She loved to play in the woods because she found them peaceful. She grew into a winter sport enthusiast: skiing, sledding, ice skating, making snow angels, and snowmobiling. Most of her adult life was spent traveling the world, first as an U.S. Air Force wife and then as a civilian whenever and wherever she could. While her favorite color was green, her favorite season was Fall: growing up in central New York, she experienced the evolution from the green of summer to the myriad of vibrant colors that Fall unveils and she loved it. She also loved flowers, especially Lilacs because she said its scent is intoxicating.
Helen’s Father, Charles, named her after his sister Anna, and her mother’s sister Helen. She was baptized at the Cardiff Methodist Church, where her family were active members and where she later sang in the choir. Growing up in a rural, small town, most activities were affiliated with the Church, the Grange, the Volunteer Fire Dept and school.
Helen went to all 12 grades in the same school building in the town of Lafayette, NY. She earned a special High School diploma awarded by the State of New York by passing the five N.Y. State Regents exams. Based on her academic record and Regents Exam scores, Helen was offered a college scholarship, but her Dad advised her not to take the spot away from a man.
Her mother’s family (Davis) lived close by, visiting one another often and holding a family reunion each summer, usually at a lake camp. Helen shared her fond memories about the reunions with her children, talking about the good food, singing fests, card playing, dancing, and of course gabbing. Pitch was the favorite card game.
Helen had fond memories of her Uncle Les, her Dad’s brother, whom she visited as often as possible, and in his later years she was all-to-happy to accept his invitation to accompany him to China, where he had been stationed as a young sailor in the U.S. Navy 60 years prior.
Helen loved to dance; she started with tap-dance lessons. Her first childhood ambition was to become a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall! She loved to attend church, Grange, and school dances. The Grange dances were family events that started with 3 Round Dances followed by 3 Square Dances. Helen even won a square-dance medal! Her and her husband loved dancing together, they were great dance partners. Her Dad used to ask them to dance when they were all out together because he really enjoyed seeing them glide around the dance floor.
Helen wanted to see the world as a stewardess but couldn’t because she wore glasses which were not allowed at the time. Next, she sought to join the military, but her Dad disagreed. She later satisfied her destiny to travel the world with her husband.
She met her husband, Sandy, when she moved to Syracuse after high school where she shared an apartment with 3 other young ladies, one of whom Sandy was dating. When he came to pick up his date one evening, he saw Helen and could not take his eyes off her. He was smitten. He later saw her out socializing, listening to music and asked her to dance, from there he fell in love with her.
They were married and had three daughters, relocating them many times around the world throughout their younger years. They lived in Japan for a stay of five years where Helen birthed her 2nd and 3rd daughters and attended the first Summer Olympic games held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1964.
While stationed at Kadena AFB, Okinawa several summer vacations were spent at Marine R&R station Kin-Blue Beach, which had beach cabins and bicycle rentals. You had to wear tennis shoes into the ocean to protect your feet from sharp and poisonous coral. Once a jellyfish attached itself to Helen; she instinctively flung the jellyfish from her body and it landed on a bald man’s head. The man, she then learned, was a colonel in Marine Corps. Helen was embarrassed and Sandy did a lot of apologizing!
In Frankfurt, Germany, Helen discovered chimney sweeps and began a collection of them. They are meant to bring good-luck. One of the chimney sweeps pins she collected was put on the flower bouquet from her garden. Sandy wore a matching pin when he kissed her good-bye and gave her the blessing his Mother always said when any one of us traveled.
While in Germany, Helen and Sandy finally took their long-awaited honeymoon in Paris, France. They also spent summer vacations taking the family on road trips through Europe.
Helen was one of the Girl Scout leaders for her daughters’ troops. For years there were many fund fundraisers, camping trips and yes, more traveling. One time the troop traveled to the international Girl Guide/Scout center, called Our Chalet, located just outside Adelboden, in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland at 1,350 meters, approximately 4,429 feet, above sea level. What a ride that was, traversing narrow, curvy mountain roads, in a large tour bus, squeezing between the towering rock faces on one side and the shear drop-offs on the other side of the road.
Every location Helen and her family lived in and traveled to was a unique experience. She was lucky enough to realize her dream of seeing the world. Her husband said she was the perfect military wife: packing and unpacking and quickly adapting to military culture. Helen often said she served in the military as much as her husband did.
After military life and her oldest went to college, she set off with the rest of the family to live in Tehran, Iran, while Sandy worked for Rockwell, Int’l. While there, three of Sandy’s co-workers were assassinated in the street by terrorists on their way to work. One of the widows, a good friend, stayed with them. The U.S. Ambassador to Iran came by to pay his respects to the widow and assigned CIA agents to protect everyone. Helen, along with a U.S. Government agent, accompanied the widow back to Yorba Linda, CA, for the funeral. Because of on-going threats from residents following the attack, the Sandoval family had to relocate within the city to ensure their safety.
Living overseas ended when they moved to Southern California in the late 70s. Her husband continued his career with Rockwell, now Boeing, until he retired. Helen and Sandy settled in Las Vegas, because it had everything that they wanted for enjoying their retirement with access to the Nellis AFB Base Exchange and Commissary as well as the Base Hospital and local VA hospital. The international airport in Las Vegas provided easy access for them to continue traveling and for friends and family to visit.
Helen loved her rural hometown best. She especially missed her family when she was overseas, and always made provisions to see them when she returned stateside or while traveling on the way to another exciting destination.
Helen was loved and admired by many. She was a daughter, sister, niece, cousin, friend, wife, Mother, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother. She will be missed, until we meet again.
Sandy & Helen would’ve celebrated 64 years of marriage on November 24, 2020.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in the name of Helen to Dibble-Tuttle Cemetery, where four generations of her Davis (aka Davies) ancestors are buried.
Please address your donation in Helen's name to:
Dibble-Tuttle Cemetery
Emmonsburg Road
P.O. Box
Salisbury, N.Y. 13454
FYI - no PO Box number required
A memorial is being planned for January, her birthday month, to celebrate her life. Details will be provided to family and friends, please sign the memorial.
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