Helen Wasel

Helen E. Wasel Long-time Los Altos resident and local teacher dies at 88. A resident of Los Altos for over 60 years, as well as a teacher for the Los Altos School district for 25 years, has passed from complications from Alzheimer's. She was 88. Helen was born on September 29, 1921, in Pierre, South Dakota, to Thomas and Marguerite Mannagh. She grew up on the old Spanish 5 ranch, and enjoyed an idyllic childhood in the Black Hills area of South Dakota. She was an academic stand-out at Pierre High School, winning numerous awards for scholarship, and was active in her class reunions until the late 1990s. Helen first came to the Bay Area in 1938 with her mother, Marguerite, having been accepted to UC Berkeley. Her mother started a real estate business in Berkeley that soon expanded, due to the influx of war workers coming to the Bay Area. Helen met her husband, Albert (Al) Wasel as a result of her mother's real estate work, and they were married in 1946 after his return from serving as a naval aviator in the Pacific during WW II. Having moved from Berkeley to Palo Alto in 1952, Al soon joined Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. as a research scientist, and later entered Stanford University, earning a doctorate in mathematics. Helen was soon employed in a variety of jobs at Stanford, including assisting in the cataloging of the Stanford Hoover Institution's vast, newly-acquired holdings on Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, an effort that would lead to a life-long love of libraries and librarianship. She also was an assistant director in the Graduate Placement office at Stanford. In 1953, while living in Palo Alto, Helen and Al purchased land in Woodland Acres, in unincorporated Los Altos, where Al designed and built a mock-Tudor home where they would live from 1955 until 1960.1959 saw the birth of their son, Jeffrey, as well as move, in 1962, to a new home above Loyola Corners, across the street from Los Altos Golf and Country Club. This was to be Helen's home until her passing and was instrumental in fostering a life-long love of Los Altos and its environs. 1967 saw Al's death from cancer and Helen's subsequent entry into San Jose State, where she would earn a Masters in Librarianship, as well as her California teaching credential. Upon completion of her courses, she was employed by the Los Altos School district, first as a teacher, then as a teacher-librarian, and later, as head librarian, retiring in 1985. She was consistently lauded for the quality of her teaching and introduced countless children to the joys of reading. She would continue to substitute in both Los Altos and Palo Alto School districts until the early 1990's. Upon finally retiring from teaching, she worked as a volunteer at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital until 1995. She was an active golfer at the Los Altos Golf & Country Club, as well as enjoying outings to jazz concerts and talks at Stanford University and was active in UC Berkeley alumni events. During her life, Helen pursued a love of travel, visiting Europe numerous times, as well as extended stays in Mexico and Hawaii. She had recently visited Poland, as well as enjoying a white water rafting excursion and visits to southwest tribal archeological sites. Helen is survived by her son, Dr. Jeffrey J. Wasel, PhD, his wife Tamra, and his daughter Emma. A memorial service will be held at St. Simon's Catholic Church, 1860 Grant Rd., Los Altos, CA on October 7 at 10:00 AM in the chapel. The family requests donations to the Alzheimer's Foundation in Helen's name in lieu of flowers.