Francine "Julia" Joy Helfman

Francine “Julia” Joy Helfman always kept her word. She said she’d live until 95 and did, dying peacefully on her birthday, December 24, 2025 with her beloved husband Joel Helfman, 96, and family close by.

Born in NYC on December 24, 1930 to Boris and Estelle Flisser, Julia read every children’s book in the Bronx public library by the time she was 12 years old. After quizzing her, the head librarian gave her a card to the adult section, the first ever given to a child. No wonder she was such a gifted storyteller.

Julia married her best friend Joel when he was 20 and she, 18. Their 76-year love story of a marriage landed them in nine cities. Julia embraced each move as an adventure and made friends easily wherever she went. Funny, feisty, brilliant and kind, people of all ages were drawn to her.

Since childhood, Julia questioned why the world was as it was and what she could do to make it more just. In her 1948 high school yearbook, a favorite social studies teacher and guidance counselor inscribed: “Best wishes to Francine, whose righteous indignation has been a source of great satisfaction.”

Throughout her adult life, this sense of righteous indignation fueled her participation in political and social movements including marching and organizing for civil and voting rights in the 1950’s and 60’s, for the separation of Church and State and to end the Vietnam war in the 60’s and 70’s, for juvenile justice reform and reproductive rights in the 70’s (and in all the decades since), and for LGBTQ rights beginning in the 80’s when one of her daughters came out to her.

A natural leader, she could both inspire people and organize them to get things done. Julia participated in, and held leadership positions in numerous not-for-profit organizations including the Urban League, League of Women Voters, Mt. Lebanon Citizens for Community Relations, South Hills Association for Racial Equality, Allegheny County co-chair of the 1972 presidential campaign for George McGovern (one of the few counties he won!), Planned Parenthood Health Services of Northeastern New York, Jewish/Catholic Dialogue Group, Hadassah and Sisterhood in the numerous synagogues to which she belonged, Advisory Board of the Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership of the Capital Region and the Gay/Straight Alliance of Niskayuna High School, and was the Grand Martial of the Albany Pride Parade. Organizing the launch and growth of the Working Group on Girls in Schenectady made her heart sing. For more than 30 years, Julia facilitated a support group for family and friends of LGBTQ folks. She saved stacks of notes from parents of LGBTQ children who said that she’d saved their families and, in some cases, their children’s lives.

At 51, she received a BA and MA in Political Science from SUNY Binghamton.

A devoted and nurturing parent, Julia imparted her fierce commitment to social, racial and economic justice to her five children, all of whom are deeply engaged members of their respective communities. This made her kvell.

Julia is survived by her husband Joel Helfman, their children Jake (Judie) Fien-Helfman, Ellie (Jonathan) Kremer, David (Kathy Kirshenbaum, and former wife Karen) Helfman, Bob (Nancy) Helfman, and Sarah (Marcia) Martinez-Helfman, along with her cherished 12 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Julia’s memory may be made to Working Group on Girls of Schenectady, Inc. https://wggschenectady.org/, ACLU http://action.aclu.org/, Parkinson’s Research Foundation https://www.parkinson.org/, the Student Scholarship Fund at The Hill at Whitemarsh https://www.thehillatwhitemarsh.org/(Be sure to designate the Scholarship Fund), or any social justice organization of your choosing.

A funeral service will be held on Friday, December 26, 2025 at 9:30am, in the chapel at Joseph Levine & Sons, Inc. funeral home, 1002 W. Skippack Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422 followed by burial at Haym Salomon Memorial Park, 200 Moores Road, Frazer, PA 19355. The service will be live-streamed at https://www.levinefuneral.com/blue-bell-webcam1.html.

Arrangements by Joseph Levine & Sons - Blue Bell