Helen Marie Bingert

BORN NEARLY 100 YEARS AGO ON JULY 19TH, 1926, SHE WAS MARRIED TO GEORGE BINGERT. THEY LIVED A FULL AND HAPPY LIFE IN WOODSIDE, QUEENS FOR 48 YEARS.

THERE ARE MANY STORIES THAT COULD BE TOLD ABOUT HELEN AND THE MANY HAPPY MEMORIES WE ALL SHARED WITH HER.

HER LAUGHTER, HER SMILE, HER GRACIOUS MANNERS, HER GENTLE DEMEANOR, AND THE CAREFUL WAY SHE THOUGHT BEFORE SHE SPOKE A WORD.

HELEN WAS RESERVED, YET SHE WAS NO PUSHOVER. SHE WOULD SPEAK HER MIND WHEN SHE WANTED TO — AND CLEARLY YOU WOULD CATCH HER DRIFT. THESE WERE NUANCES OF HELEN'S CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY, AND ONE OF THE MANY REASONS WE LOVED HER.

HELEN WAS THE MANGER FAMILY MATRIARCH. SHE WAS MY COUSIN; HOWEVER, I ALWAYS CALLED HER AUNTIE BECAUSE OF OUR AGE DIFFERENCE. YET OVER THE YEARS AS SHE AGED AND AS I AGED, I HAVE WATCHED AND LEARNED FROM HELEN JUST WHAT IT TRULY MEANS TO AGE GRACEFULLY.

PERSONALLY, I WAS INSPIRED BY THE DIGNIFIED WAY SHE LIVED HER LIFE, AND I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HELEN AS BEING AT THE TOP OF HER GAME.

SHE'D READ THE NEWSPAPER EVERY DAY; SHE KNEW ALL THE HOT TOPICS OF THE CURRENT EVENTS, ESPECIALLY WHAT WAS GOING ON IN HER BELOVED NYC.

AS WE ALL KNOW, HELEN HAD A FASHION SENSE AND WAS ALWAYS DRESSED TO THE NINES. HER HAIR WAS ALWAYS COIFFED, HER NAILS POLISHED, AND HER EARRINGS CLIPPED ON.

EVEN INTO HER NINETIES, SHE KEPT HER WEEKLY APPOINTMENTS AT THE SALON. AND WHEN SHE COULD NO LONGER MAKE THOSE NAIL APPOINTMENTS, MY SISTER CANDACE STEPPED IN AS HER PERSONAL NAIL TECHNICIAN TO CLIP AND POLISH HER FINGERS AND TOES — AND THAT'S A TRUE ACT OF LOVE!

IN FACT, AS A YOUNG WOMAN, HELEN'S MOTHER ADVISED HER TO NEVER GO OUT OF THE HOUSE UNDERDRESSED. SHE SAID, "HELEN, YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOU WILL MEET OUT ON THE STREET!"

APPEARANCES MATTERED.

IN FACT, ON SUNDAY HELEN'S AIDE TOLD ME THAT LAST FRIDAY, AS HELEN WAS TRANSITIONING IN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS, SHE ASKED HER:

"AM I STILL BEAUTIFUL?"

THE ANSWER WAS, OF COURSE — YES, YOU ARE.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LOVED ABOUT HELEN WAS HER KEEN, DRY SENSE OF HUMOR AND HER QUICK MANGER WIT, WHICH OFTEN LEFT YOU WONDERING. AND IF SHE GAVE YOU ONE OF HER DIGS, YOU PROBABLY HAD TO THINK TWICE ABOUT WHAT SHE REALLY MEANT.

HELEN WAS FUN, SHE LOVED A GOOD PARTY, SHE LIKED HER FOOD HOT, AND SHE LIKED A GOOD STIFF DRINK!

AFTER ALL, THE BOAT GEORGE AND HELEN OWNED WAS NAMED "HAPPY HELEN!"

HELEN LIVED A PRIVATE LIFE, YET SHE HAD A WAY OF MAKING EVERYONE FEEL THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH HER WAS SPECIAL.

MY SISTER CANDACE CROSSED THE BRIDGE BETWEEN FAMILY AND FRIEND, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS CERTAINLY VERY SPECIAL.

CANDACE BROUGHT HELEN THE JOY AND CARING OF A SURROGATE DAUGHTER; THEY WERE BOTH A BLESSING TO EACH OTHER. AND HER HUSBAND JIM WAS RIGHT THERE TO SUPPORT THEM BOTH.

IN THE END, HELEN LIVED A GOOD LONG LIFE. SHE WAS A PROPER LADY, HOWEVER, LIVING IN AN IMPROPER WORLD.

AND TO QUOTE ONE OF MY FAVORITE MUSICIANS, KENNY CHESNEY:

"DON'T BLINK, ONE HUNDRED YEARS GOES BY FASTER THAN YOU THINK."

HELEN HAS PASSED — AND ALTHOUGH WE WILL ALL MISS HER, WE WILL SMILE WHEN WE THINK OF HER, AND WE WILL TOAST HER WHEN WE GATHER TOGETHER — AND WE WILL PRAY FOR HER WHEN WE ARE ALONE.

HELEN IS AT PEACE NOW.

SHE IS HOME WITH JESUS WHOM SHE LOVED.

HELEN IS SMILING DOWN ON US TODAY AS WE BID HER FAREWELL.

Helen Marie Bingert passed on June 8, 2026, at the age of 99, and was a resident of Plainview, New York.  

A Gathering will be held at Kennedy-Roth Funeral Home, 41-45 58th Street, Woodside, NY 11377, US, on June 12, 2026, from 9:00 am to 10:15 am.  

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church, 58-02 Roosevelt Ave, New York, NY 11377, US, on June 12, 2026, from 10:45 am to 11:45 am.  

A Committal Service will be held at Calvary Cemetery, 49-02 Laurel Hl Blvd, New York, NY 11377, US, on June 12, 2026, from 12:15 pm to 1:15 pm.