Make New Friends, but Keep the Old.
One is Silver, the Other is Gold.
This was one of Hellen’s favorite expressions. She loved meeting people and hearing their stories. She was fortunate in that she had legions of friends from all walks of life. These ranged from the people at Sand Run Pharmacy to the folks at the West Side Bakery to the curb boys at Skyway Drive-in to the people who helped her maintain her pristine house and yard to her neighbors to someone she met on the phone.
In many ways, she was Facebook before there was a Facebook.
Her infectious smile and that twinkle her in her eye made it impossible not to be charmed by her. She was never shy about asking questions to get to know you better (e.g. where did you go to school, what’s your favorite place to eat, who are you voting for President?).
The people she interacted became part of her extended Mitten family. And, as a lifelong Akron resident who lived in the same house since 1967, she was seen as a constant; an anchor that remain unchanged in a world that constantly seemed to be in flux
One person who Hellen became especially close to was her housekeeper, Anna Koenig. Anna became like a member of our family. Her life is a sperate amazing and inspiring story from her survival during and after World War 2 to immigrating to America. Here is her documentary: