Helen R. Hauenstein

HAUENSTEIN Helen R. Hauenstein, age 84 of Bedford, Mass., died peacefully on June 6, 2010 at Carleton Willard Village in Bedford, Mass. after a period of failing health. Helen was born to Gertrude and Henry Reetz in New York City on March 16, 1926. She moved to Bedford from Monroe, where she and her husband, Max, lived since 1958. During her working career, she was employed at Dictaphone Corporation in Bridgeport. Max and Helen's home was always filled with friends, warmth and hospitality. They always reveled in their church community at the Monroe Congregational Church. Once retired, she and Max enjoyed their vacation home in Orleans, Mass. on Cape Cod. They loved to travel and did so in the U.S. and Europe. Max prede-ceased Helen in 1995, but Helen continued her active life, travelling to China with friends, to Europe with her daughter and continuing to spend time on Cape Cod which she loved and visiting her children and grandchildren in the Greater Boston area. She was an avid reader, an active volunteer at Bridgeport Hospital in Connecticut, enjoyed gardening and taking college courses at Fairfield University. She had a lifelong love of music that began when she was a child at St. George's Episcopal Church in Manhattan and continued with years of singing in her church choir at Monroe Congregational Church. After moving to Carleton Willard in Bedford in 2008, she continued to be active and made many close friends in the community there. She leaves her son, Lee Hauenstein, his wife, Claudia of New Hampshire and their daughters, Sara and Rachel; her daughter, Elise Hauenstein and her husband, Norm Abram of Massachusetts; many loving family members; and countless friends. A memorial service in Helen's honor will be held at 11 a.m. on June 26, 2010 at Hancock United Church of Christ, 1912 Mass Ave, Lexington, MA. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Doctor's Without Borders, PO Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741, or to the Living Fully, Dying Well Palliative Care Program of Carleton Willard, 100 Old Billerica Road, Bedford, MA 01730.