Helen Joann Foley

She was born Helen Joann Derrah on November 21, 1938, in Lynn, Massachusetts, the daughter of Norman Derrah and Helen (O'Regan) Derrah.

Lynn was always home. She graduated from Lynn English High School with the Class of 1956, raised her family there, and was a longtime member of Post 6 and its Women's Auxiliary. Her later years took her to Florida and, eventually, to South Carolina to be close to family.

Helen loved to read and to travel, and she never turned down a cruise. But what she loved most was a day by the pool with her family gathered around her.

Over the course of her long life, Helen said goodbye to nearly everyone she had started out with: her parents, her brother Alan, her two sons, her husband, and so many of the aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who had filled her years. She was one of the last of her generation, and she carried that loss quietly and without complaint.

Through it all, she was there.

She found the strength for the people she loved, again and again. Her greatest happiness came from being with her family, surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was there for the birthdays and graduations and for the ordinary afternoons in between.

Her faith and her love for her family were at the heart of who she was.

Helen was predeceased by her parents, Norman Derrah and Helen (O'Regan) Derrah; her brother, Alan Derrah; and her sons, Scott and Dennis Brusky. She was also predeceased by her husband, Arthur Foley, a firefighter at Engine 9 in Lynn and the love of her life.

She is survived by her daughter, Susan Brusky; her grandchildren, Alan Brusky and his wife Nicolle, Amanda Looney and her husband Jason, and Ryan Ouellette; and her great-grandchildren, Grace Brusky, Logan and Lennon Looney, and Landon and Rowan Ouellette and Adalyn Bure.

There will be no public service. A celebration of Helen's life will be held in Lynn in the spring of 2027. All are welcome, and details will follow.