Helene Rita Greenwald

She was a wife, mother, businesswoman, avid reader, pianist and music lover, world traveler, community volunteer, fighter for social justice, steadfast Democrat, long-suffering Texas Rangers fan, wonderful cook, charming hostess, doting grandmother and great-grandmother – a multi-faceted woman whose unassuming manner hid a steely resolve and enduring strength.

Most importantly, she was someone whose warmth, kindness, generosity, wisdom, and humor brightened the lives of her extended family and wide circle of friends for more than 95 years. The light she shone on so many finally dimmed and went out on Saturday, April 28, but in the afterglow, she will always be remembered, always loved, always honored, as the gentle matriarch and fine person she was.

Helene Cohen Greenwald was born on December 23, 1922, in Elyria, Ohio, where she grew up and went to high school (once ditching classes to see Frank Sinatra sing). She earned a B.A. from Western Reserve and an M.L.A. from SMU. In 1944, she married Lawrence “Bud” Greenwald following his discharge from the U.S. Army, and together they moved to Dallas.

In Dallas, she raised three daughters and managed the Baker Marble Company, which she and Bud purchased in 1959. Always supportive of her daughters, she served on numerous PTA committees, led Girl Scout and Blue Bird troops, and was a frequent grade school “room mother". Active in the community, she sat on the boards of the MLK Center and NCJW, tutored kids at Maple Lawn Elementary and served as a docent at the Meyerson Symphony Center and the Jonsson Library.

She participated in numerous political campaigns, went to the National Women’s Conference in 1977, and once met Rosalyn Carter in the White House. She took her daughters and their friends out of school to see JFK’s motorcade on that fateful day in November of 1963. A citizen of the world, she traveled with Bud to Europe, Israel and North Africa, Scandinavia, China, Alaska, Central America, Canada, and throughout the U.S.

She created a home where her many friends and those of her husband and daughters were always eagerly welcomed. Her holiday briskets, matzo-ball soups and potato latkes were incomparable, and her chocolate birthday cakes were the stuff of legend. (The recipes are now in the safekeeping of her grandchildren.)

Helene’s 71-year marriage to Bud ended with his death in 2015, but she is survived by her daughters Marilyn (Mark), Sharon, and Janet (John), grandchildren Alex (Ashley), Kate (Jason), Elisabeth (Marisa), and Michael (Natalie), great-grandchildren Angel, Victoria, Tella, Wren, and Cassandra, her sister Harriet Prentis, nephew Michael (Mandy), grandniece Mara, and cousins too numerous to mention, plus her beloved friend of 93 years, Betty Chaiken, as well as many others whose lives she touched.

Helene’s was a full life, well lived, and it will be celebrated at a service Wednesday, May 2, 2:00 pm, at Temple Emanu-El. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to NCJW, LWV-D, or the NTFB.