Helen McReynolds Rubart

Helen was a hippy. A flower child of love. A rolling stone with a huge and infectious smile. Helen loved to travel and kept so many friends in so many places. She valued good friends and kept frequently connected with scores of them over the years; from Antioch College, Eastern Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Central Florida, and more. So many of those friends have been sending love and encouragement even through this last week. And more than her cherished friends, Helen loved her many kids and grandkids from the Rubart, Barber, and Kanteres families. And then, a special place in her heart for her little sister Lil, who surely endured plenty of sibling rivalry in their formative years; but was so loved and cherished by Helen through their lives.

While Helen didn’t love her given middle name Adeline, she did very much love The Sweet Adelines and Barber Shop music and was a Sweet Adelines singer herself for many years in Central Florida. She was always proud to be a unique bass voice in the group of many soprano, alto, and tenor ladies.

Helen was a great and frequent storyteller, always reflecting fondly on her experiences and sharing them with others; her many co-op opportunities across the country as a student with Antioch College, her eventual bachelor’s degree from Penn State College, that old 2 stroke Saab she drove so many years ago, all the Social Security Office career experiences from Pennsylvania to the Virgin Islands to New Hampshire, and the unique opportunities in her St Croix years including enduring Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Helen loved and appreciated difficult things for their niche pleasures and bragging rights, like her many VW Rabbits and Beetles of both old and new generation, messing with the myriad of exposure setting options on her professional grade digital camera for the perfect shot, working through a good crossword puzzle, completing all the crochet projects, and her many Jack Russell dogs, affectionately known to the family as Rat Dog 1, 2, 3, & 4.

Then there was the love of her and Dave’s property in Albrightsville, PA, fondly named Camp David after her husband David Ralph Rubart (1938-2010). She loved to travel with Dave - by car, motorcycle, or motorhome – it didn’t matter where they were going as long as they were on the road together. And she loved to refer to Dave as Ralphy, a name he clearly didn’t love as much as she did, which made it all the funnier when she said it… “Hey Ralphy!”

In her last few years Helen returned to NH where her daughter Gwen Kanteres was able to support and advocate for Helen, to ensure she was best supported and cared for. To ensure Helen was loved in turn, for all the love she held for so much and so many through the years.

Helen is survived by her adopted Norwegian Forrest cat Kevin, who is also known as Stew, Stewie, Stewart, Anthony, Tony, Big Tony, Big T, Fred, and formally by his given name, Andrew.

Lastly, Helen loved Public Service radio and television, and was a long-time consistent donator to both. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your local PBS in Helen’s honor. https://www.pbs.org/donate/ 

Private family celebration to follow in June.