Helen Katherine Huebl

Helen was born on January 26, 1936, to Michael and Mary Sugrue in New York City. She graduated from Catholic grade school in Flushing, New York, in 1950. Following her graduation from grade school, Helen was awarded a full-ride scholarship to The Bishop McDonnell Memorial High School, an all-girl Catholic school in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The value that she placed on that educational opportunity is demonstrated by the commute that she daily made to the school from her home in the borough of Queens, a commute that required travel each way on a bus and two subways. Helen graduated from Bishop McDonnell in 1954 and went on to study nursing at Bellevue School of Nursing.

After graduation, Helen accepted a position at Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital, the oldest, and one of the largest, public hospitals in the United States. While she was working as a registered nurse at Bellevue, Helen put herself through college at night at St. John’s University. Also during her time at Bellevue, Helen met Dr. Hubert Carl Huebl, who had come to work at the hospital as part of his surgical training. Hubert and Helen married at St. Andrew’s Church in Flushing, New York, on February 23, 1963. The couple had four children: John, Michael, Katherine, and Carolyn.

After Helen’s first child was born, she set aside her nursing career to dedicate her life to her family. Helen excelled at providing the members of her family with guidance and encouragement through the many passions and difficulties of their lives. She was a lifelong source of comfort and support to her husband through his decades in a challenging profession. For her children, she was a source of refuge and counsel not only through their childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, but also through the years when they were raising their own families. Known for her wisdom and good judgment, Helen provided the same kind of help and encouragement to extended family and to many friends.

Helen was a passionate and talented artist. During the limited time that she had apart from attending to the needs of her family, Helen created beautiful works of visual art, including paintings in oil and watercolor and sketches in pencil and chalk. Helen also was a devoted Catholic, her Catholicism a religion that she practiced with quiet dedication throughout her life. During the years that she spent in the car driving her children countless thousands of miles from one event to another, her children noticed that she always made the sign of the cross whenever she passed a Catholic church. It was an endearing devotional act, one that showed her lifelong mindfulness of, and closeness to, God. She was very involved in her home parish of Divine Child in Dearborn, Michigan, where she served the less-fortunate as a member of FISH and Christian Service Committees. She was loved by everyone who knew her and she will be greatly missed.

Helen was predeceased by a few years by her sister, Nancy Saverino, of Floral Park, New York. The sisters remained extremely close throughout their lives. Their bond was shown by regular visits to each other’s homes during the years when they were raising their families. As the years passed and the children grew, and spare minutes became more available, their talks by telephone went from semi-weekly to daily. Their friendship was a lifelong gift that they gave to each other.

Helen is survived by her husband, Dr. Hubert Carl Huebl; her children, John Huebl (Chaohong Fan), Michael Huebl, Kay (Tom) Doyle, and Carolyn Huebl (Felix Wang); seven grandchildren, including Justin and Allen Huebl of Maryland; James and Marianna Doyle of Michigan; and Nora, Adam, and Louisa Wang of Nashville; her nephews, Joe Saverino of Floral Park, Rhahime Bell of Boca Raton, Florida, and Kenyatta Bell of Costa Rica; her niece, Julia (Michael) Greer of Reading, Pennsylvania, grandniece Annie Greer of Reading; and by beloved extended family.

Helen fought a courageous battle with vascular dementia and handled the challenges with her usual grace and selflessness. The family would like to thank her nurses and physicians and her loving caregivers, especially Rhonda, Julie, Kadist, Ofelia, Harut, Elaine, and ReShena.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (https://www.aspca.org).