Helen Mary Matic Milne, aged 95, passed away on Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at her home
on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Helen and her husband, James Toner Milne,
were married in 1946 and resided in Chicago, Illinois until moving to Riverdale, NYC, in
1954. They resided there for nearly 20 years and were active members of St. Gabriel’s
Catholic Church where their four children attended Catholic school.
Helen was head of the Ladies Guild at St. Gabriel’s for several years as well as a Den
Mother for her sons’ Cub Scout troops. She attended undergraduate school at the
College of Mount St. Vincent in Riverdale, and, later attended Manhattan College
earning a Master’s Degree in English in 1972.
Helen and James moved to Manhattan in 1973 and resided at 2 Sutton Place South for
fifteen years. During this time Helen taught school for ten years in NYC, initially at the
grammar school level and then at an all-girls business high school in mid-town. Later
she entered the business world, first as donations coordinator for Covenant House
Youth Shelter in Manhattan and next as an administrative specialist for her husband,
who was a co-owner of a wholesale pharmaceutical firm, Commons Bros. Inc., located
in the Bronx and Manhattan.
In 1988, after the sale of Commons Bros. Inc., Helen and James moved to Stowe,
Vermont. They went into the hospitality industry as co-owners with two of their children
of resort lodges, serving the fall color season as well as the winter and summer sports
tourism trade. After nearly ten years in northern Vermont, Helen and Jim returned to
Manhattan and resided on the Upper East Side for 25 years. For much of that time she
was a widow after Jim’s death in 2001.
During her remaining years, Helen was actively engaged in her local Catholic Church,
St. Joseph’s in Yorkville, as a devout parishioner, a reader at Church services and
volunteer assisting with parish administration. She enjoyed playing bridge, watching
movies, and dining with her friends, especially Sunday brunches after Church. With her
family she was always game for a trip up-state, out-of-state or off to Europe to visit
friends in France, Italy and Switzerland, as well as ancestral homelands in Scotland and
Eastern Europe. She always tried to tuck a game of golf into the mix. She will always
be remembered for her sense of humor and adventure, her love of the Church and her
family, as well as touching every person she met in a distinct way.
Surviving are her four children: Marcia St. Clair, James T. Milne, Jr. and wife Judith,
Mark J. Milne, and wife Claire, Christopher P. Milne, and wife Deborah; her nine
grandchildren, Gregory Milne, Rebekah Milne, Owen Milne, Gavin Milne, Curran Milne,
Heather Stevenson, Vanessa Hurta, Andrew Milne, and James Maxwell Milne; and her
nine great-grandchildren, Harper Milne, Graham Milne, Ella Milne, Shannon Milne,
Bridget Milne, Calvin Stevenson, Maggie Stevenson, Jack Hurta, and Sydney Hurta.
A brief wake will be held on Monday, April 12, 9 a.m at the Church of St. Joseph’s on
87th St. near the corner of 1st Ave. followed by a Catholic Mass at 10 a.m.. The
internment will be performed at a later date yet to be determined in Pawling, NY. In lieu
of flowers, donations may be forwarded to the Church of St. Joseph or its parish school,
404 East 87th Street, New York, NY 10128-6030.
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