Helen T. Smith

Helen T. Smith (née Townsend), 102, of Newtown Square, PA passed away on October 19, 2025.

Born in Camden, NJ in 1923, Helen was the daughter of the late Millard and Irene (née Brown) Townsend

Helen was predeceased by her husband, Louis R. Smith; and siblings, George & Robert Townsend, and Ruth Groves.

She was the loving mother of Jeffrey (Sara), Bruce M. and Scott (Jane); devoted grandmother of Edward, Jennifer, Travis, Lanae, Lisa, Laura, Brendan and Krista; great-grandmother of 7 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild. Also survived by daughter-in-law, Deborah Smith.

Helen grew up in Lansdowne and worked in a bank while her husband was stationed overseas during WWII.

She loved her family above all else, raising her three boys, working hard all morning and early afternoon, caring for their home and cooking all the meals. And when all the work was done, she enjoyed kicking off her shoes and watching the soaps until the boys got home from school.

Every summer, the family would spend a week in Iowa visiting son, Jeff and his family, followed by a week in Minnesota visiting son, Bruce and his family.

Since their youngest son, Scott raised his family in Chester County, Helen and Lou had loads of babysitting opportunities with those 4 grandchildren which included frequent trips to Friendlies for ice cream and CRC thrift shop to pick up some new toys.

She loved to knit and crochet and made many scarves and blankets, but also literally thousands of dish clothes and would give them away to friends and family. She was a good cook and took great pride in presenting beautiful holiday dinners. She was bit of a perfectionist and went to great lengths to have everything perfect.

Helen also enjoyed going to go flea markets and loved to shop at Brookstone, looking for new gadgets. She and her retired girlfriend would have biweekly get-togethers for coffee and to catch up on the latest news of their families with a bit of neighborhood gossip also. She supported her Pennsylvania grandkids by attending all of their sporting events and musical recitals. She was definitely the best grandmom that her grandkids could ever wish for…total love, support and never any judgment.

Relatives and friends are invited to her visitation 10:00-11:00 AM Friday, October 24, 2025 at the Donohue Funeral Home, 1627 West Chester Pike, West Chester, PA, followed by her Funeral Service 11:00 AM. Interment Philadelphia Memorial Park, Frazer, PA

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are requested to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, www.stjude.org.