Helen was born in Medina, the daughter of Pelagia (Krukowski) and Anthony Tulowiecki. She was the youngest in a family of two brothers: Joseph (Victoria Lucas) Tulowiecki ("Touhey") of Clarendon, NY; William (Jane Szymanski) of Lancaster and four other sisters: Amelia (Charles Coushaine) of Buffalo, Jenny (George Beacham) of Buffalo and Lorain, OH; Martha (Karl Schultz) of Medina, and Florence. She also had four brothers-in-law: Carmen (Mildred); Peter (Margie); Daniel (Mary); and Angelo, sons of Michael and Raffaella DelPlato, all of Batavia.
She attended Sacred Heart School and graduated from Medina High School in 1940. After raising eight children she graduated from Genesee Community College in 1979 with an AA degree in nursing.
Helen and Lew were married September 15, 1942. She worked for a short time as a secretary at Dohler Die Company. During WWII she was employed at Curtiss-Wright in Buffalo as a member of the secretarial pool. Then she installed clocks and altimeters in cockpits of P-40 air fighter planes and constructed carriers for "belly tanks" used to hold supplemental fuel. Helen and her husband worked at Del's grocery store, which they owned in Medina from 1944-46. Together they founded the Deluxe Machine and Tool Company in Batavia in 1957, where she was the secretary and treasurer. Before her marriage she worked as a medical secretary to surgeon Howard Lawrence in Medina producing transcriptions for medical records. Helen worked at the Wyoming County Community Hospital and the at the New York State School for the Blind as a registered nurse.
Until November 2014, Helen continued to live in the house that she and her husband built themselves in 1949 and where they raised their children. She is survived by six daughters: Carole LaValley of Batavia; Judy (Nick) Young of Raleigh, NC; Linda Bishop of Raleigh; Paulette (Timothy) Pickering of Batavia; Dr. Joan (Bryan Goodwin) of South Hadley, MA; and Ruth of Batavia, and two sons: Lewis Thomas (Lisa Gugino) of Webster, NY; and William (Dr. Elizabeth Richardson) of Gersham, OR. She had fourteen grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews
Helen was an avid golfer and ladies club champion in the mid-1960's at both Terry Hills and Batavia Country Club (Byron Meadows) golf courses. She had a hole-in-lone in 1984. She also enjoyed bridge, bowling, ballroom dancing and walking. She was fluent in Polish, studied Italian and traveled to Italy twice with her husband Lew. Most recently, she participated regularly in Silver Sneakers exercise program at the YMCA since 2004; she was the program's oldest participant.
The family will be present from 4-7 PM on Sunday May 31, 2015 at the MICHAEL S. TOMASZEWKI FUNERAL & CREMATION CHAPEL, LLC 4120 WEST MAIN STREET ROAD BATAVIA, NEW YORK 14020 where prayers will be recited 9:30 AM Monday June 1 followed by a 10:00 AM Mass of Christian Burial at Ascension Parish. Memorials in her memory are suggested to a charity of the donor's choice. She will be laid to rest beside her beloved Lew in St. Joseph's Cemetery.
Please leave your words of comfort to Helen's family at www.tomaszewskifh.com and for more information call Michael at (585)343-7500.
THE FAMILY OF HELEN T. DEL PLATO IS BEING CARED FOR BY THE MICHAEL S. TOMASZEWSKI FUNERAL & CREMATION CHAPEL, LLC 4120 WEST MAIN STREET ROAD BATAVIA, NEW YORK 14020.
