Helen S. DeRosa

Helen S. DeRosa of Trumbull, Conn., died peacefully on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017, at Mystic Healthcare in Mystic, Conn. She was 93.
Helen was born on Jan. 19, 1924, in Pine Island, N.Y., the daughter of Anthony D. Skutnik and Josephine Lepski Skutnik.
She was the loving wife of the late Vincent J. DeRosa.
She graduated from Warwick Valley High School in 1941 and shortly afterward took a job in the drafting department of Western Electric in Kearny, N.J.
While in New Jersey, she met and married Vincent J. DeRosa. His Army service stationed him at Yale University, where he studied Japanese to be a translator during and after World War II.
Helen worked during those years as a medical secretary in the Yale Health Department. Their first child, Joyce, was born during this time in New Haven.
Several years after the war, they moved back to Pine Island, where they made their home until 1999 and where Vincent became a teacher in the Warwick school system. Their second child, Richard, was born there.
Helen was a member of St. Stanislaus Church and the Ladies Auxiliary of the Polish Legion of American Veterans. She was also a charter member of the Pine Island Volunteer Ambulance Corps and was the fund-raising chairlady for PIVAC for many years.
Years later, as a member of the Pine Island Seniors, she taught line dancing to the members of that organization.
Helen was an avid reader, seamstress and gardener. She loved working in arts and craft, and her hand-made Ukrainian Easter Eggs were artistic marvels.
She also loved to travel and, along with her husband, saw many of the countries in Europe.
She was a devoted fan of the N.Y. Yankees.
In mid-life she started a career with the U.S. Postal Service in Pine Island and continued until her retirement in 1993.
In 2000, she and her husband moved to Trumbull, Conn., to be closer to their children. There she became a member of St. Jude Church. She was able to live independently after the death of her husband until the last four months of her life.
Helen was a remarkable woman and she will be missed.
A loving mother, she is survived by her daughter Joyce Kay and husband David, son Richard DeRosa and wife Rita, grandchildren Kristy Bender and husband Kevin, Vincent DeRosa and wife Margaret, and great-grandchildren Preston Bender and Brooke Bender, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Her husband Vincent predeceased her in 2004.
She was preceded in death by her brothers Joseph, Anthony, Stanley, Benjamin and Edward Skutnik and sister Sophie Skutnik Piggott.
The family is forever grateful to Sally D’Angelo for being such a comfort and friend to Helen in her final months.
Donations in Helen’s memory may be made to St. Jude Church, 707 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe, Conn., 06468.
A memorial service will be held privately at a later date.
Funeral arrangements were handled by Dinoto Funeral Home in Mystic, Conn.