Obituary for Helene J. Blain (Galarneau)
COHOES -- Helene J. Blain, 85, died March 9 after a long illness. A native of Northside in Waterford, she was the daughter of the late Edgar and Jeanne Galarneau. She was educated at St. Anne's School in Waterford and, having completed high school business courses by the age of 16, went to work for the M.H. Fishman Co. five-and-dime store in Cohoes and then for John P. Ryan Furniture Corp. in Troy until her marriage to Theodore A. Blain in 1957.
Helene took pride in her French Canadian heritage and loved to speak the language and reminisce about childhood summers with family in Quebec. She had been an active parishioner of Sacred Heart Church in Cohoes and was a past member of the Columbiettes’ singing group. She devoted her life to her family, especially her beloved husband, Ted, from the night they met square dancing until his death in 2009.
Survivors include her children, Daniel of Cohoes, Mark of Albany and Kathryn of Halfmoon; a brother, Raymond (the late Donna) Galarneau of Waterford; sister-in-law Suzanne (the late Paul) Asher of Cohoes; brother- and sister-in-law Robert and Lorraine Sasko of Mystic, CT; and many nieces, nephews and cousins in the U.S. and Canada. She was also predeceased by her sister and brother-in-law, Bernice and L. Scott Cuomo of Waterford.
Funeral services will be Friday at 9 a.m. from the Philip J. Brendese Funeral Home, 133 Broad St. (Rt. 32), Waterford and 9:30 a.m. at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Waterford. Interment will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery, Waterford.
Relatives and friends may call at the funeral home Thursday, 4-8 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be made in Helene's memory to a charity of one's choice.
Many thanks to all who cared for and about her—to which she would say, “Oui.”
Helene took pride in her French Canadian heritage and loved to speak the language and reminisce about childhood summers with family in Quebec. She had been an active parishioner of Sacred Heart Church in Cohoes and was a past member of the Columbiettes’ singing group. She devoted her life to her family, especially her beloved husband, Ted, from the night they met square dancing until his death in 2009.
Survivors include her children, Daniel of Cohoes, Mark of Albany and Kathryn of Halfmoon; a brother, Raymond (the late Donna) Galarneau of Waterford; sister-in-law Suzanne (the late Paul) Asher of Cohoes; brother- and sister-in-law Robert and Lorraine Sasko of Mystic, CT; and many nieces, nephews and cousins in the U.S. and Canada. She was also predeceased by her sister and brother-in-law, Bernice and L. Scott Cuomo of Waterford.
Funeral services will be Friday at 9 a.m. from the Philip J. Brendese Funeral Home, 133 Broad St. (Rt. 32), Waterford and 9:30 a.m. at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Waterford. Interment will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery, Waterford.
Relatives and friends may call at the funeral home Thursday, 4-8 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be made in Helene's memory to a charity of one's choice.
Many thanks to all who cared for and about her—to which she would say, “Oui.”