Helen Gildea (1926 - 2018)

Helen C. Gildea, 92, of Hershey passed away on December 31, 2018 in Elizabeth Manor of Elizabethtown.

She was born January 14, 1926 in Smyrna, DE, daughter of the late Charles and Bessie Staats.

Helen was raised on the family farm but had big ideas of going to college and the big city. She accomplished her childhood dreams and more.  She became an operating room nurse and taught nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and was a Nurse Cadet in WW2. Helen had many talents and interests including being a competitive jitterbug dancer at a young age.  She would dance anytime she had the chance.  She was also an accomplished curler and tennis player, competing at the national level well into her 70’s and 80’s. She also loved cheering at her children's sporting events and was an avid Phillies and Sixers fan.  Helen was an accomplished medical professional, but she was an even more determined and dedicated mother and grandmother, proud to share stories and pictures of her children and grandchildren. Helen was always active in her community, a longtime member of the League of Women Voters.  Helen has a close set of lifelong friends, outliving many, but will be deeply missed by those close friends and family a generation or two younger than she.

Helen was a member of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Hershey. Helen is survived by; sons, James W. Gildea of Harrisburg and John J. Gildea of Waynesboro, VA; two grandchildren, Riley and Miriam Gildea, and a brother, Buster Staats of Smyrna, DE.  She is also survived by many cousins, nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by daughter, Kathleen Gildea and a sister Elizabeth White.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 12 noon in the Hoover Funeral Home of Hershey.  The family will begin receiving guests at 11AM.  Interment will be in the Hershey Cemetery.
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In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorial contributions be made to friend of the family, John Engle’s educational organization, Haiti Partners (http://haitipartners.org/donate/).