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June 15, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, June 25, 2018 from 3-7 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 from the funeral home, then to Our Lady of the Valley RC Church, Wayne, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Helen will be laid to rest with her beloved Arthur at Christ the King Cemetery, Franklin Lakes, NJ.
Helen S. Wolff (nee Slawinski), age 94 of Wayne, died peacefully on June 15, 2018. She had lived in Wayne since 1960.
Helen had worked for Fawcett Publications. During her twenty years with Fawcett, she ascended to Editor of “Mechanic’s Illustrated” and “True Confessions” magazines. She loved her job and enjoyed a successful career by any measure, especially considering the era in which she worked and how difficult it was for a woman to break through the glass ceiling. Of course, if you knew Helen, then you know that she wouldn’t allow anything, or anyone, to obstruct her path. She was a true pioneer. As much as she loved her job though, she greatly disliked the commute into New York City and retired in 1962. Naturally, she remained very active and volunteered her time generously with several area charities. She was especially fond of Eva’s Village in Paterson.
Helen grew up in New York City and was one of four children. Her father was a Polish immigrant who had escaped from a Siberian prison. After a long and arduous journey, he made it to New York City where he started a family. He was a very skilled wood carver and took employment with the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Sadly, he contracted pneumonia and died in 1944. Helen’s mother, Marcela, was a proud Polish woman, devout Catholic, strong and independent. She went to church daily, missing on very few occasions. Helen told a story, and she was very good at telling stories, of how her mother had a dear friend who “keeled over and died” in church one day, while she was praying. The experience was upsetting to Marcela, but she admitted to Helen that this was how she would want to die someday. One year later, Helen’s mother died in church.
During her 20’s and 30’s, Helen often traveled alone, or with one of her girlfriends. She was fiercely independent and inherited her mother’s moxie. Helen always stayed active and her travels typically revolved around some sort of athletic activity, such as skiing, tennis, and horseback riding. On one occasion, she booked a long weekend at the Eddy Farm Resort in Pennsylvania, during the late 1950’s. She had planned to play tennis and relax a bit. While she was hitting the ball by herself against the practice wall, she spotted two handsome men starting to play a game of tennis. She challenged the winner, who ended up being Arthur Wolff. They hit it off almost instantly and, in Helen’s own words, they “were very good for each other.” A wedding followed in July of 1960 and they moved to Wayne in October that year. They remained very active together throughout their marriage and Helen was heartbroken when he passed in 1997. Her independent nature enabled her to persevere during the years since Arthur died, and her only regret was not ever having children with him. She recently planned her own funeral and shared many stories of her life, all while enjoying a few Marlboro 100 cigarettes and a cocktail. Even at ninety-four years old, her mind was as sharp as a tack, and she understood how blessed she truly was. She shared one of her favorite songs, singing Nat King Cole’s “Almost Like Being in Love.”
What a day this has been!
What a rare mood I'm in!
Why, it's almost like being in love
There's a smile on my face
For the whole human race
Why it's almost like being in love
All the music of life seems to be
Like a bell that is ringing for me
And from the way that I feel
When the bell starts to peal
I would swear I was falling
I could swear I was falling
It's almost like being in love
Helen is survived by ten nieces and nephews and was predeceased by her husband Arthur in 1997, by her sister JoAnn Danek in 2006, and by her two brothers; Stephen in 1969 and Henry in 1989.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, June 25, 2018 from 3-7 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 from the funeral home, then to Our Lady of the Valley RC Church, Wayne, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Helen will be laid to rest with her beloved Arthur at Christ the King Cemetery, Franklin Lakes, NJ.
June 15, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, June 25, 2018 from 3-7 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 from the funeral home, then to Our Lady of the Valley RC Church, Wayne, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Helen will be laid to rest with her beloved Arthur at Christ the King Cemetery, Franklin Lakes, NJ.
Helen S. Wolff (nee Slawinski), age 94 of Wayne, died peacefully on June 15, 2018. She had lived in Wayne since 1960.
Helen had worked for Fawcett Publications. During her twenty years with Fawcett, she ascended to Editor of “Mechanic’s Illustrated” and “True Confessions” magazines. She loved her job and enjoyed a successful career by any measure, especially considering the era in which she worked and how difficult it was for a woman to break through the glass ceiling. Of course, if you knew Helen, then you know that she wouldn’t allow anything, or anyone, to obstruct her path. She was a true pioneer. As much as she loved her job though, she greatly disliked the commute into New York City and retired in 1962. Naturally, she remained very active and volunteered her time generously with several area charities. She was especially fond of Eva’s Village in Paterson.
Helen grew up in New York City and was one of four children. Her father was a Polish immigrant who had escaped from a Siberian prison. After a long and arduous journey, he made it to New York City where he started a family. He was a very skilled wood carver and took employment with the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Sadly, he contracted pneumonia and died in 1944. Helen’s mother, Marcela, was a proud Polish woman, devout Catholic, strong and independent. She went to church daily, missing on very few occasions. Helen told a story, and she was very good at telling stories, of how her mother had a dear friend who “keeled over and died” in church one day, while she was praying. The experience was upsetting to Marcela, but she admitted to Helen that this was how she would want to die someday. One year later, Helen’s mother died in church.
During her 20’s and 30’s, Helen often traveled alone, or with one of her girlfriends. She was fiercely independent and inherited her mother’s moxie. Helen always stayed active and her travels typically revolved around some sort of athletic activity, such as skiing, tennis, and horseback riding. On one occasion, she booked a long weekend at the Eddy Farm Resort in Pennsylvania, during the late 1950’s. She had planned to play tennis and relax a bit. While she was hitting the ball by herself against the practice wall, she spotted two handsome men starting to play a game of tennis. She challenged the winner, who ended up being Arthur Wolff. They hit it off almost instantly and, in Helen’s own words, they “were very good for each other.” A wedding followed in July of 1960 and they moved to Wayne in October that year. They remained very active together throughout their marriage and Helen was heartbroken when he passed in 1997. Her independent nature enabled her to persevere during the years since Arthur died, and her only regret was not ever having children with him. She recently planned her own funeral and shared many stories of her life, all while enjoying a few Marlboro 100 cigarettes and a cocktail. Even at ninety-four years old, her mind was as sharp as a tack, and she understood how blessed she truly was. She shared one of her favorite songs, singing Nat King Cole’s “Almost Like Being in Love.”
What a day this has been!
What a rare mood I'm in!
Why, it's almost like being in love
There's a smile on my face
For the whole human race
Why it's almost like being in love
All the music of life seems to be
Like a bell that is ringing for me
And from the way that I feel
When the bell starts to peal
I would swear I was falling
I could swear I was falling
It's almost like being in love
Helen is survived by ten nieces and nephews and was predeceased by her husband Arthur in 1997, by her sister JoAnn Danek in 2006, and by her two brothers; Stephen in 1969 and Henry in 1989.
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