Helen M. (Lofaso) King

GREECE - February 20, 2021. Helen is predeceased by her husband of 63 years, Floyd King. She is survived by her children, Dan (Marcia) King, Robert (Holly) King, Joseph (Deborah) King & Pamela (Howard III) Harrington; grandchildren, Daniel King & Mary Harrington.

Helen's services held at The Parish of the Holy Family and burial in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery were held privately.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Parish of the Holy Family, 4100 Lyell Rd., Rochester, NY 14606 in Helen's memory.

The Story of Helen King, written by her children.

Helen was born in a small home on Avon-Geneseo Road on March 4, 1928 during the depression. She went to kindergarten and first 3 years of grade school in Geneseo. Then when her family moved to Avon, they lived on Bronson Ave. and later moved to Maple Street. Helen attended St. Agnes Catholic School. Her parent's names were Joseph and Nora Lofaso. Joseph immigrated to the United States from Palermo, Italy. Her father, Joseph was a mechanic and Nora was a homemaker. Helen was the youngest of 4 children, her siblings names were Anne, Johnny & Carl. 

Helen recalled getting a special treat one day in grade school or kindergarten when the teacher assigned her to sweep the floor during lunch time, and later the teacher rewarded her with a cupcake. She remembered catching minnow as a child from the stream behind her uncle's house with her siblings. She enjoyed riding a pony while visiting her cousins and feeding their chickens.

She always loved music. As a youngster she took accordion lessons and learned to play by ear. She also played the piano. And sometimes she just wrapped wax paper around a comb to hum on. For percussive fun, she held two spoons together and tapped them together.

In her teens, she learned to dance from a friend. She also took tap dancing lessons. Also, as a teenager, her family moved from Avon to Rochester so that her father could live closer to work.

Helen left school in 10th grade to help her family. Then in her fifties she made a goal to complete her GED and did so.

Helen met the love of her life, Floyd at a dance at a Lake Avenue Ballroom on a weekend evening in 1950. On Sept. 20, 1952 Helen and Floyd married at Saint Agnes in Avon. Helen worked at Rochester Products and Fanny Farmer Candy Company. She talked about walking to Fanny Farmer candy factory, where she worked early in her marriage.
Helen was married to Floyd for over 60 years and they had 4 children, Daniel, Robert, Joseph & Pamela. Their family had various pet cats and birds as the children were growing up. Floyd passed away in 2016. 
                     
In many ways, the day Mom and Dad got married was one of the greatest days of her life. They were also especially thrilled with the births of their two grandchildren (Daniel & Mary) and watching them grow. Mom was devoted to her family above all else and loved getting the whole family together. She loved to make pasta (including spaghetti, lasagna, gnocchi), eggplant parmesan, chicken dinner.  She put a lot of work into getting everything ready so that everyone would have a good time celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays -- especially Christmas which she hosted at their home. She enjoyed travel with family in New York State, including the Adirondacks, Chautauqua Institution, and Inlet, and out of state in Florida, Canada, Missouri.

Helen loved to dance more than any other activity. She loved square dancing, line dancing, and belonged to a senior citizen group that entertained at local nursing homes. She danced at the Lilac Festival and at the NY State Fair. If she could not dance, she loved just listening to the music. She enjoyed playing table tennis with her husband Floyd and competing in the NY Senior Games. 
She played tennis & sang in a senior citizens center choir. She loved to go to the Greece Senior Center for monthly dance parties where she danced with Floyd and gathered with beloved friends Jean, Belle, Joy, Veronica and many more.
Mom and Dad remembered that when they were first married, they took walks and listened to radio shows, from early in their marriage included The State Trooper; The Shadow Knows, and Tarzan since they did not yet have a TV.

Later on, a couple of her favorite TV shows included Lawrence Welk & Little House on The Prairie. Some of her favorite musicians were Frank Sinatra, Eddy Arnold, and Dean Martin, and she loved the songs, Beer Barrel Polka and White Christmas.
                            
Mom was devoted to her family and always put family first. She was also devoted to her friends. She and Floyd made visiting relatives a priority as well as checking on relatives and friends either in person or by phone to say "hello" and made sure everyone was doing ok.
Mom always encouraged forgiveness and said, "if you are looking for a perfect friend, you will never find one." The word 'friend' in that saying could always be replaced with 'family member', 'spouse', 'co-worker', etc. The lesson: try to accept people as they are and forgive when there are problems or else you might wind up a very lonely person.
Mom was an extremely kind, selfless person. She was also known for a great sense of humor and loved a good joke.