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Helen Brecht Obituary
Helen Josephine Brecht, 94 years old of Port Austin, MI, passed away on September 16, 2025. Helen was born on May 07, 1931, to the late Stanley and Helen (Knoblock) Ornowski in Kinde, MI.
Helen was a member of St. Michael's Catholic Church in Port Austin, the U&I Club, the Port Austin Historical Society, the Holy Rosary Sodality and the American Legion Auxiliary. She owned Helen's Beauty Shop for 33 years, as well as the Port Austin Standard/Shell Gas Station for 16 years. In her spare time, she enjoyed traveling and was very active in St. Michael's Parish.
Helen is survived by her daughters, Ann (Bill) Morrison of Rochester Hills, MI, and Gretchen (Mike) St. John of Schoolcraft, MI; her son, John (Sue) Brecht of Port Austin, MI; her grandchildren, Patrick (Ellen Dowling) Morrison, Michael (Chelsea) Morrison, Liz St. John and Katie (fiancé Jeff Owens) St. John; her great-grandchildren, Jackson Skaggs, Sofia St. John, and Elliott, Palmer and Cameron Morrison; along with her brother, Rev. Gerald S. Ornowski, MIC, and several nieces and nephews.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents; one sister, Elizabeth (Betty) Alent; and her great-grandchild, Christopher St. John.
Visitation will be on Monday, September 22, from 2 to 8 p.m., at MacAlpine Gage Chapel in Kinde, MI. Members of The Holy Rosary Sodality will lead the rosary at 7 p.m. Additional visitation will precede the funeral from 10 to 11 a.m. at the church. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at 11 a.m., in St. Michael's Catholic Church, Port Austin, MI, with Fr. Robert Pere officiating. Burial will follow in St. Michael's Cemetery.
Condolences may be shared with the family at www.macalpinefuneralhome.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Helen Brecht
Sponsored by MacAlpine Funeral Home - Gage Chapel - Kinde Gage Chapel.
katie White
September 25, 2025
I am so sorry for your loss, no matter how long Helen lived, it still is a loss! I knew Helen from St. Michael and also a prayer group in the late 1990's. She loved going to church. And I miss her sitting on the seat on the first row. What a woman of God! she also liked to talk and keep you next to her, talking, talking, talking. I bet she was a great hairdresser, keeping conversations going. She was a very bright person and an inspiration to me to follow our Catholic Faith, however challenging it may be. Sincerely, Katie White
bruce Gill
September 22, 2025
Always a smile and stayed a beautiful lady her whole life you could always find out the latest at the gas station and she was the most accurate and would tell it like it was God bless Her and family
Hannah AlGhamdi
September 22, 2025
I did not know aunt Helen well but the first time I met her as an adult I wish I had known her before. Meeting her made our trip so special. She was so loving and kind to us. May her beautiful soul rest in peace
Hannah AlGhamdi
Najla Alghamdi
September 21, 2025
May your beautiful soul rest in heaven❤
We loved visiting our great aunt Helen she’d always welcome us with the biggest hug and her beautiful smile, she looks just like my grandma Elizabeth.
Here is a beautiful picture of them at grandma and grandpas wedding.
Helen Ornowski Brecht to the right of her sister & bride Elizabeth Ornowski Alent.
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Mary Alent
September 21, 2025
Maliha Al Ghamdi
September 21, 2025
My great-aunt Helen, you will always be in our hearts. My youngest son Yaseen, although he was only five years old in 2019 when he met you, he still talks about the day you told him how much you loved his curly hair. May you rest in peace ❤
Mary Alent
September 21, 2025
Ann & Gretchen & John, your mom was such a special person in my childhood memories & then in my adulthood memories when she would welcome her great nieces & nephew from Saudi Arabia in the summers. She was ice cream & deer & parades & always ready to go with us anywhere! We loved her dearly. Your cousin, Mary
Margaret Riley
September 19, 2025
To lose your mom is such a sad event. May lovely memories allow you to smile through the tears, Ann..
Sarah Elliott
September 19, 2025
Bill Morrison, you told me when we met during St. Andrew Alpha (Fall of 2016) and said that I was relocating to Port Austin that your “mother-in-law lived there and would find me,” and she did! Over the years we’d sometimes meet for coffee after church, talk on the phone, during COVID lockdown we called each other twice a week to check in and I also visited her, etc. She was a treasure, and I’m delighted to have been acquainted with her. Rest with the angels, Helen.
Marjorie Hunt
September 18, 2025
Helen was a special lady. Had my hair done by her. My Mom cared for Ann and Gretchen when they were very young. My special memory of her was when she told me how important it was to use a little blush on your cheeks. I bought my first tube from her. She always looked lovely even as she aged.
Betty Wright
September 18, 2025
So sorry to hear that you lost your sister brother Gerald. My husband‘s been gone five years. The Lord‘s been good to me. I didn’t know your sister Betty had passed.
Lori Mouton
September 18, 2025
Very sorry for the loss of your Mom. Thoughts and Prayers.
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MacAlpine Funeral Home - Gage Chapel - Kinde110 East Main Street, Kinde, MI 48445
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