Helen W. Minichelli

Helen Minichelli (née Hutula), 85, passed away peacefully on February 3 after a long battle with cancer and heart disease. She is survived by her daughter Tanya Powell (Vincent Wilk) of Glenview, Illinois, son Michael Powell (Shelly Wissink) of Madison, Wisconsin, grandchildren Aaron and Alexander Wilk and Oliver, Eloise and Benjamin Powell, and a large and loving extended family including nieces and nephews Linnea Nopola (Watton, MI), Marcia Johnson (Leonard, MI), David Hutula (Pittsburgh, PA), Dale Hutula (Watton, MI), Ron Hutula (Atlantic Mine, MI), Sally Soli (Green Bay, WI), Cindy Lackey (Sturgeon Bay, WI), Carole Rajala (Watton, MI), Kristine Duhame (Ishpeming, MI), Beth Kovala (Belleville, MI) and Annette Kovala (South Lyon, MI); many cousins (including Jakko, Marianna, Minna and Jukka Kaura of Tampere and Nokia, Finland); dear friends Christine Norman (Needham, MA), Eleanor Barker (Grosse Pointe, MI), Jerry Partridge (Grosse Pointe, MI), and their many children and grandchildren.
Helen was born in 1939 in Covington, Michigan, the 8th and youngest child of Charles Hutula and Dagmar Kaura, who immigrated to the U.S. from Finland at the age of 17. Dagmar died when Helen was only 8 years old, which perhaps drove Helen to build and carefully nurture her relationship with her large family. She matriculated at Michigan Technological University, but eventually transferred to and graduated Michigan State University in 1959. She went on to medical school at Wayne State University in Detroit, graduating first in her class in 1963, in an era in which there were few female physicians. Helen then moved to Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where she practiced internal medicine and later ran a thriving practice of conducting disability evaluations.
In the late 60's, Helen met and married William (Bill) Powell, who served in World War II with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division, 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Bill was a radioman for the 517th P.I.R.'s Headquarters Company, and participated in Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. Helen and Bill had 3 children: Tanya, Randall (who died as an infant) and Michael. Helen and Bill divorced in the early 1970's, but Helen remained in Grosse Pointe, pouring herself into raising her young family as both a single mother and busy physician.
Helen sunk deep roots in Grosse Pointe, joining St. James Lutheran Church (serving one term as President), the Grosse Pointe Hunt Club and, despite being a pure-bred Finn, the Grosse Pointe chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In the mid-70's, Helen met and later married Robert (Bob) Minichelli, an executive with the Bank of the Commonwealth in Detroit. Bob was a beloved stepfather to Tanya and Mike: they enjoyed dinners and get-togethers with family in Detroit, traveling to Covington and nearby Big Lake, and trips to Rotunda West in Florida. Tragically, Bob died of a heart attack when Tanya and Mike were still in high school.
Helen remained in Grosse Pointe after Tanya and Mike went away to college and graduate school. She rekindled her friendship with Christine Norman, her freshman-year roommate at Michigan Tech, who encouraged her to travel. Helen had been to 41 countries and every continent except Antarctica (for which she asked for credit anyway, since she once saw it from a plane) and to all but a few U.S. states (sorry, Idaho and North Dakota).
In the early 60's, in an effort to deepen her connection to her family and perhaps in part trying to heal the wound left by the loss of her mother, Helen began a correspondence with an uncle (Ilmari Kaura, her late mother's brother) in Finland. In doing so, Helen was the first of her American family to actively reach out to her Finnish relatives. From that correspondence came the then-novelty of international phone calls, and from those calls, a trip was planned. She visited Ilmari and his wife Eeva in the late 60's, and went back almost 20 times in the decades since. That connection led to visits to the US from Helen's cousins Jakko, Marianna, Minna and Jukka Kaura, return visits from Helen, her children, their spouses and her grandchildren, and many members of her extended family. Her Finnish family reciprocated with many trips to the U.S. by the sons and daughters of Helen's cousins, including Elina (Simo Syrjänen), Eeva, Ville (Katja Jukkara) and Timo (Emilia Huvinen) Kaura, and their children.
In 2012, Helen moved to Glenview, Illinois, to be closer to Tanya, Mike and her grandchildren. In Glenview, Helen participated in many senior events and joined the welcoming community of Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Northfield, IL. Helen continued to travel with Tanya, Mike and their families, albeit to less exotic locations, such as Walloon Lake in northern Michigan, Trout Lake in northern Wisconsin and St. George Island, Florida. Helen enjoyed dinners with her family at Sunset Ridge Country Club, where she was a favorite of many staff members.
Helen nurtured her relationship with her family, made and kept many friends, and touched many lives. Invariably, one hears how kind she was, how giving, how sharp and how she never, ever judged others. Sometimes it seems like the world has too few people like Helen. She will be missed.
Visitation and service will be held at Lutheran Church of the Ascension,460 Sunset Ridge Road, Northfield IL 60093. The visitation will be Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 2:30 pm with the funeral service beginning at 3:30 pm. Live Stream Link
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Lutheran Church of the Ascension or the Cancer Survivorship Program at Charitable Foundation of Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL (select Cancer Survivorship Program from the drop-down menu of available charitable programs).