Helen Weitman

Helen Weitman of Wantagh, NY passed away on January 27, 2024 at the age of 93. As her grand-daughter Lauren liked to say, "She should have been dead a long time ago." Helen was born on July 17, 1930 in Cologne, Germany to her mother and father, Ruth and Samuel Wolf. She fled Nazi Germany in 1938 with her parents and younger brother, Abraham. She would later learn that they were the sole survivors of their large family. The family settled in the Bronx where she would meet

Paul Weitman . They shared only one date before Helen had to run off to Israel for a planned Aliyah. Paul was waiting at the dock when she returned and asked her to marry him. They shared 67 years together and it was truly a beautiful love story. They had four children, Mark, Steven, David, and Andrea. She had eleven grandchildren and over twenty great-grandchildren.

Helen was a unique and wonderful person to know. She connected effortlessly with people. Her warmth, humor, and silliness were what drew you to her immediately. After going back to school at age 42, to earn a degree in Political Science, Helen turned to a career in social work. Helen spent almost forty years providing more than social services to her clients. She worked tirelessly to ease the suffering of others. Throughout her life she sacrificed for those around her, caring nothing for her own comfort or material things. Together with her close friend, Sister Mary, they operated as the Starsky and Hutch of social work. She drove an hour each day to work at Wavecrest Community Center in Far Rockaway or the Lost Battalion Senior Center in Queens. She was still providing outreach and comfort to needy people, well into her eighties. She will be remembered as a fighter and an advocate for all people and an example to all who knew her.

Any donations in her memory may be sent to Hatzilu Rescue Organization at hatzilurescue.org