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Helen Bechdel Obituary

Helen Fontana Bechdel Helen F. Bechdel, of Bellefonte, died peacefully at home after an illness on May 14, 2013. Helen was born in Lock Haven, in July 1933, the third of four children born to Andrew and Rachel Fontana. She was a graduate of the Immaculate Conception High School and Lock Haven State Teacher's College. At LHSTC she was active in the College Players, debuting in the role of the second Mrs. De Winter in "Rebecca", and playing the lead in "The Heiress". After two years of college, Helen did a summer internship at Tufts Arena Theater in Boston, followed by a one-year apprenticeship at the Cleveland Playhouse. After this, she returned to Lock Haven and finished her degree in secondary education. Helen met her future husband, Bruce A. Bechdel, when they were both performing in a college production of "The Taming of the Shrew". Upon graduation, Helen moved to New York City for two years, working as a secretary and studying acting with Uta Hagen at the esteemed HB Studio. In the city, Helen also attended as many plays, operas, poetry readings, concerts, and jazz performances as was humanly possible. In 1959, Helen and Bruce were wed in Luzerne, Switzerland. Bruce was stationed in Germany with the US Army, and the couple remained in Europe for almost a year before returning to make their home in Beech Creek. While raising three children, Helen began to work as a substitute teacher in area schools. She also taught for a time in the Upward Bound Program, preparing rural and low-income students to attend college. She received a Master of English Education from Penn State University in 1974. A dedicated and hardworking high school teacher, Helen was passionate about curriculum development, and disappointed by the movement away from formal grammar instruction. She was a member of the National Council of Teachers of English. Helen and her husband spent years meticulously restoring their Gothic Revival house in Beech Creek. The home was included on a Bicentennial House Tour of Clinton County in 1976. And in 1978, it won the Clinton County Historical Society's Annual Preservation Award. Helen was a devoted mother, a gracious hostess, a superb cook, and a consummate housekeeper. And she managed all these things with apparent effortlessness while working full time and pursuing her creative interests with both passion and discipline. For many summers, Helen was involved with the Millbrook Playhouse in Mill Hall, either performing or working on costumes-often both. Some of her notable roles at Millbrook were Lady Bracknell in "The Importance of Being Earnest", Madame Armfeldt in "A Little Night Music", Frosine in "MoliŠre's The Miser", and Mrs. Higgins in "My Fair Lady". In the 1970s, Helen also began performing at Boal Barn Playhouse. Some of her roles there included Penelope Sycamore in "You Can't Take it With You", Fanny Cavendish in "The Royal Family", and Diana in "California Suite". She did costume design for numerous productions at Boal Barn, including "The Pajama Game" and "The Sound of Music". She did extensive acting and costume work with other local theater groups, including State College Community Theatre, the Project for the Performing Arts in Bellefonte, Bellefonte's Victorian Christmas, and faculty shows at the high school. Helen was also a gifted pianist. She studied and practiced seriously for many years, with a special fondness for the Romantic repertoire. Helen found her study with the late Phyllis Triolo, of State College, particularly rewarding. Helen inherited a passion for opera from her father Andrew Fontana. As an active member of the Music Club of Lock Haven, he was featured in many concerts and radio broadcasts as a baritone soloist and quartet member. For many decades, it was rare for Helen to miss a Saturday Metropolitan Opera radio broadcast, and when the State Theater began playing simulcasts, she was in regular attendance. Although she grew up in Lock Haven and raised her family in Beech Creek, the town of Bellefonte-with its Victorian architecture, vertiginous hills, and vital community life-always held a special place in Helen's heart. Her grandparents met there when they were both employed by the Bush House Hotel, in the days when Bellefonte was a busy railway stop. Helen began teaching English at Bellefonte Area High School in 1977, and taught there for 21 years. After her husband's death, she moved to Bellefonte permanently. She transitioned from her ornate Victorian mansion to a small Craftsman bungalow, drawn to the simplicity of Arts and Crafts style. She loved being a part of Bellefonte. She was active for many years with the Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association, holding the offices of Vice President and President. She served on the selections committee for the Local Government Grant awards, funded by the PA Council on the Arts. In recent years she served on the Bellefonte curriculum committee of OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute), helping to plan courses and occasionally leading one. She was a member of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. After her retirement from Bellefonte Area High School in 1998, Helen was able to devote herself to her primary passions: reading and writing. She read widely, with a particular interest in poetry and the lives of poets. She stayed abreast of literature reviews and theater criticism as well as the latest style and fashion news. She delighted in her grandchildren Willow, Lyra, and Rigel, and loved to engage in imaginative, frequently costume-bedecked play with them. In addition to her own writing practice, Helen began in 2002 to write regular articles and reviews for the Centre Daily Times. From 2005 to 2009, she also wrote a lifestyle column for the paper, on topics ranging from food, culture, and the history of Bellefonte, to personal stories. Her columns were incisive, deeply observant, and often very funny-like the one about her attempt to cure herself of arachnophobia by visiting a tarantula at the Frost Entomological Museum. Helen loved and hated being "on deadline." She worked on her column with the same complete focus that she brought to everything she did. She was a New York Times crossword puzzle fanatic, and a longtime member of the Bellefonte YMCA. She was swimming her regular sixty lap workout until 10 weeks before her death. Helen enjoyed traveling and visiting used bookstores and museums with her partner Dr. Robert Fenichel. She had a special interest in American Impressionist painting. Helen took maximal advantage of the cultural offerings of Penn State, frequently attending lectures, concerts and plays, taking in exhibits at the Palmer Museum of Art, and prowling the stacks of Pattee Library. She was a woman of great elegance, kindness, courage, strength, dignity, critical discernment, and wit, and she will be terribly missed. Helen was predeceased by her husband Bruce A. Bechdel; and her two brothers, Andrew, Jr. and Joseph Fontana. She is survived by her partner, Dr. Robert Fenichel, of State College; her sister Mary Fontana Misch and brother-in-law, Ed Misch, of Lenox, Mass.; and her three children, Bruce Christian Bechdel, of State College, Alison Bechdel and partner, Holly Rae Taylor, of Bolton, Vt., and John Bechdel and wife, Leanne, of Mifflinburg; as well as three grandchildren, Willow, Lyra, and Rigel Bechdel. Friends will be received at the Wetzler Funeral Home, 206 N. Spring St., Bellefonte, on Thursday, May 16, from 6-8 p.m. There will be a wake service at 7:45 p.m. with Deacon Thomas Boldin officiating. Funeral Mass will be Friday, May 17, at 12:30 p.m., at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 134 E. Bishop St., Bellefonte, with Father Valentine J. Bradley officiating. The burial will be private at the convenience of the family. Memorial contributions may be made to the Mid-State Literacy Council, 248 E Calder Way, State College, PA 16801. Online condolences may be made at www.wetzlerfuneralhome.com.

Published by Centre Daily Times on May 15, 2013.
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Memories and Condolences
for Helen Bechdel

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Mrs. Bechdel was a wonderful and patient teacher. She was one of my teachers that had a big impact on my life. I think of her often.

-Shannon Janicki

Shannon Janicki

May 27, 2013

Our thoughts and prayers are with you. We loved Helen and are very proud of her astute accomplishments. We love you.

Love, Lynda and Jay Cranmer, Cinnaminson, New Jersey

May 22, 2013

I will always remember Helen as an inspiring friend, joyful spirit, and fellow writer. She made my life all the richer.

Karen Trimbath

May 21, 2013

An extraordinary and patient teacher. She was one of my teachers I truly admired and I will miss. My condolences to the entire family.

Other words to describe her (she would have recommended that I use these in my paper)- unique, notable, noticeable, outstanding, remarkable; impressive, smashing, striking; animating, energizing, enlightening, enlivening; phenomenal, rare, sensational, spectacular; singular, uncommon!

Keith Tarbi

May 17, 2013

Alison, Christian, John
Our thoughts are with you and your families in the passing of your mom. May you find peace in the many thoughtful memories shared.
All of us down here in New Jersey are deeply saddened for your loss and wish we could be there.

Becky Ting-Bianchini

May 17, 2013

I am saddened to hear that Helen has passed. She infuenced my life in my early years in Beech Creek. She always had time to talk with me and I performed with her at Millbrook. She loved life and taught passionatey. She was the mother of my friend, and the mother of the friend of my brother. She touched my heart and my prayers are with her children.

Michael De Garmo

May 16, 2013

I wish I had appreciated her teaching and dedication when I was a child. My brother, Jim, who was the Assistant Principal, told me once she was one of the finest teachers we had at BHS. She was.
My condolences.
Beth Devlin
class of '83

beth devlin

May 16, 2013

One of the greatest teachers. She will always be missed! She had such an impact on everyone! What a gem. Rest in Peace! Condolences to the entire family.

Christina Shouey

May 15, 2013

So sorry to hear of Helen passing. Regret I am out of town till end of month and unable to attend services. Helen was a much admired teacher and friend to many in our community.

Martha Nastase

May 15, 2013

Very sorry about the passing of a wonderful lady. She was an excellent teacher and role model. Rest in Peace Helen.

Karen Keller Brown

May 15, 2013

What a wonderful teacher and role model. Prayers and thoughts are with you all. Rest in Peace Helen.

Karen Keller Brown

May 15, 2013

Dear Alison & Bob, I'm thinking of you as you grieve for your mother and life partner. I will always remember Helen's warm welcome to me when we met 16 years ago. I know she influenced and enriched many lives. May her memory be for a blessing. Robin Becker

Robin Becker

May 15, 2013

Alison, Christian, and John, I am thinking of you. I'm so grateful to have had your mom in my life. What a vivid presence!

Molly Weigel

May 15, 2013

I loved Helen....when I first met her as a teacher when I was in high school, then when I was performing with the Bellefonte PPA,and later in life as a friend. I most often saw her at Mass, and I loved speaking with her. She was a very lovely person, and my prayers for her and her family are gladly given. I will miss her greatly.

Jennifer Davis

May 15, 2013

Wishing all of you peace.

jan cree

May 15, 2013

She was a fun teacher, one I enjoyed having. She taught me alot about things and was a sweet person.

Jason Fitzgerald

May 15, 2013

Helen was an inspiring educator and friend. She taught you how to be your own individual and the imporance of loving and expressing yourself. She was unique and she was passionate. I find it a privilege to have known her as a teacher and as a friend. Rest Peacefully, Helen.

Curtis

May 15, 2013

Sending peace and comfort, what a wonderful tribute to your Mother.

Leslie Royer-Stevenson

May 15, 2013

Dear Alison and Family,
I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your mom. Peace, love, and healing.

Michelle L. Roy

May 15, 2013

One of the most memorable and honorable teachers who had such a positive and influencial impact on my life and the lives of all those she's taught and mentored. So sorry to hear of her passing.

Kimberly (Thompson) Martin

May 15, 2013

Sending my most sincere thoughts and prayers as you celebrate the life of your Mother.

Tym De Santo

May 15, 2013

I not only considered Mrs Bechdel as one of my favorite teachers, but she was also my friend. My deepest condolences and sympathies to her family and loved ones. Bellefonte has lost quite an amazing lady. Thank you for being such an inspiration to me, as well as a great friend. I will miss talking to her while walking my dog on Curtin Street. Helen was one in a million and will be greatly missed by all who knew her. "May flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest." - William Shakespeare

Mark Ivicic

May 15, 2013

Helen's influence in my life is such a gift. I am so grateful to have taught with her at Bellefonte High School where she was a true asset to the whole school. She is a shining example of poise, intelligence, creativity, honesty, and joie de vivre. My warmest thoughts of peace and comfort to her family members and friends. Her spirit lives on.

Jessie Barth

May 15, 2013

I'm so sorry to hear of Helen's passing. She was an inspiration to her students & a roll model for other teacher like me.

Peggy Jackson

May 15, 2013

I'm so sorry to hear of Helen's passing. I loved teaching with her at Bellefonte; she was an inspiration for all of her students & a roll model for the other teachers.

Peggy Jackson

May 15, 2013

Helen you will be greatly missed by all the Houser's & the Bellefonte Community. Our children loved having you in school, thank you for encouraging them to use their creativity! Sally loved seeing you on stage & working with you back stage at the Boal Barn! Our condolences to your family!

Cecil Houser Family

May 15, 2013

I am sorry to hear of Mrs. Bechdel's passing. I enjoyed her class at Bellefonte as a student and thought she was a wonderful teacher and inspiration for her students. She will be missed.

Ginger Espigh (Reigh)

May 15, 2013

Dear Alison and the Bechdels,

My condolences to your entire family, I see so many coincidences and different parallels to our families. Yesterday I was thinking of the memoir about your mother, I haven't read it yet, but I was telling myself that I'll need to go to check it out from the library tomorrow- which is today. So sad to hear of her passing, she was a beautiful woman, and we were able to get a glimpse of her life in your father's memoir. Her obituary was absolutely beautiful, and from that I can tell she was strong and able to hold a candle on her own. I can't wait to read.

The Bechdel Family are in my thoughts. :)


-Alicia Blow

Alicia Mireles Blow

May 15, 2013

I was sad to hear of the passing of Mrs. Bechdel. She was a wonderful teacher at Bellefonte High. My prayers are with your family during this very difficult time.

Leah Raja (DeFurio)

May 15, 2013

Prayers to the family. She was a teacher of mine, so sad.

Carrie Newman-Fogleman

May 15, 2013

Dear Alison, we have been thinking of you. We are so sorry for your loss. Your mom sounds like an amazing person. We are heading to Berlin today (expecting to be called back for my mom at any moment) otherwise we'd be in touch today. Thinking of you. Xo Susan and Gowen

Susan Squier

May 15, 2013

I powerfully feel the loss of my intimate friend and love.

Bob Fenichel

May 15, 2013

So very sorry to read about the passing of your wonderful mother. We have many fond memories of her.

Garnet and Ernie Strouse

May 15, 2013

What a blessing and inspiration you were...and a truly lovely person. Thank you for your wise counsel.

Theresa Chandler Heiser

May 15, 2013

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