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May 12, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Saturday, May 17, 2014 from 8:30 to 10:30 AM.
A funeral service will be held Saturday at 10:30 AM at the funeral home, immediately following the visitation hours. Entombment will take place at Laurel Grove Memorial Park Mausoleum, Totowa.
Helga E. Gottas, age 83, of Columbia, TN and formerly a long-time resident of Wayne, died peacefully on Monday, May 12, 2014.
Born in Germany in 1931, she emigrated to the U.S. when she was 20 years old. Upon her arrival in the U.S.A., she initially landed a job as a nanny for a diplomat. It was around this time that she also met a nice young U.S Marine through his Uncle Freddy named Ron Hertzberg. Helga and Ron married in 1955, settling on the Marine base in Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. They later moved to Chicago, then Paterson. Helga and Ron were blessed with three beautiful children and Helga helped Ron in his beauty supply store in Paterson.
In 1972, Helga moved to Wayne. By now, the kids were older so Helga took a job for Drakes Bakeries as a packager in their Wayne bakery. While there, she met her second husband Frank Gottas. They were on the night shift together and on one evening they stopped at Gabriel’s in Mountain View to have a drink. They hit it off and were married in 1983. They honeymooned at the Jersey Shore and enjoyed nearly thirty years of loving marriage. Frank began to get ill right after retiring and Helga did everything she could for him, giving him the best care he could have asked until his passing in 2012. Helga also retired from Drakes Bakeries in 1998 after a 26 year career.
There were few places that Helga found more peace, solace and joy than in her garden. She loved being outside with Frank, tending together in the soil, enjoying the beauty and aroma of their countless flowers and the satisfaction of biting into a plump juicy tomato that they grew themselves. She loved to hear the birds chirping and singing too. Speaking of the birds, her feathered friends always knew that Helga’s backyard was a great place to visit as the many bird feeders scattered about were always full of fresh bird seed. The only thing the birds needed to keep an eye out for was the stray cats which Helga equally loved and cared for. At one time she was providing for six cats including Tiger, Buddy and Molly. The birds probably had little to worry about as Helga was as generous about feeding those cats as she was the birds.
In the house, Helga was an excellent cook and baker. During the Christmas holidays, you always knew you could find her in the kitchen, baking cookies – 15 different varieties in all! In her very generous way, she shared those cookies with her family and friends and, of course, enjoyed a few herself too. Helga had a very generous spirit. She faithfully took care of her two grandsons, Justin and John, five days a week while their parents worked. The boys were of course much more of a joy than a burden. Her own kids eventually all moved out of New Jersey so Helga and Frank made frequent trips to visit them in Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee. In early 2013, after Frank’s passing, Helga joined her children in Columbia Tennessee after living in Wayne for 41 years.
Helga will be remembered and adored for a great spirit of generosity. She always put great thought into the Christmas gifts she bought for her family, always choosing something that she knew they couldn’t buy for themselves. She will be missed but the memories of her will go on in the hearts of those who had the privilege of experiencing her love.
Helga is survived by her son Pearce Hertzberg of Columbia, TN, her daughter Beverly and husband Seth Newburger of Harrisburg, NC, and her daughter Taryn Hertzberg of Columbia, TN; and two grandsons: Justin and John.
She was predeceased by her first husband Ronald Hertzberg in 1998, her second husband Frank Gottas in 2012, and her brother Werner in 1979.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Helga’s name are asked to consider the Humane Society of the United States, Dept.: Memorial Donations, 2100 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 (humanesociety.org) (make checks payable to HSUS) or the National Wildlife Federation, PO Box 1583, Merrifield, VA 22116-1583 (www.nwf.org).
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 Saturday, May 17, 2014 from 8:30 to 10:30 AM.
A funeral service will be held Saturday at 10:30 AM at the funeral home, immediately following the visitation hours. Entombment will take place at Laurel Grove Memorial Park Mausoleum, Totowa.
May 12, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Saturday, May 17, 2014 from 8:30 to 10:30 AM.
A funeral service will be held Saturday at 10:30 AM at the funeral home, immediately following the visitation hours. Entombment will take place at Laurel Grove Memorial Park Mausoleum, Totowa.
Helga E. Gottas, age 83, of Columbia, TN and formerly a long-time resident of Wayne, died peacefully on Monday, May 12, 2014.
Born in Germany in 1931, she emigrated to the U.S. when she was 20 years old. Upon her arrival in the U.S.A., she initially landed a job as a nanny for a diplomat. It was around this time that she also met a nice young U.S Marine through his Uncle Freddy named Ron Hertzberg. Helga and Ron married in 1955, settling on the Marine base in Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. They later moved to Chicago, then Paterson. Helga and Ron were blessed with three beautiful children and Helga helped Ron in his beauty supply store in Paterson.
In 1972, Helga moved to Wayne. By now, the kids were older so Helga took a job for Drakes Bakeries as a packager in their Wayne bakery. While there, she met her second husband Frank Gottas. They were on the night shift together and on one evening they stopped at Gabriel’s in Mountain View to have a drink. They hit it off and were married in 1983. They honeymooned at the Jersey Shore and enjoyed nearly thirty years of loving marriage. Frank began to get ill right after retiring and Helga did everything she could for him, giving him the best care he could have asked until his passing in 2012. Helga also retired from Drakes Bakeries in 1998 after a 26 year career.
There were few places that Helga found more peace, solace and joy than in her garden. She loved being outside with Frank, tending together in the soil, enjoying the beauty and aroma of their countless flowers and the satisfaction of biting into a plump juicy tomato that they grew themselves. She loved to hear the birds chirping and singing too. Speaking of the birds, her feathered friends always knew that Helga’s backyard was a great place to visit as the many bird feeders scattered about were always full of fresh bird seed. The only thing the birds needed to keep an eye out for was the stray cats which Helga equally loved and cared for. At one time she was providing for six cats including Tiger, Buddy and Molly. The birds probably had little to worry about as Helga was as generous about feeding those cats as she was the birds.
In the house, Helga was an excellent cook and baker. During the Christmas holidays, you always knew you could find her in the kitchen, baking cookies – 15 different varieties in all! In her very generous way, she shared those cookies with her family and friends and, of course, enjoyed a few herself too. Helga had a very generous spirit. She faithfully took care of her two grandsons, Justin and John, five days a week while their parents worked. The boys were of course much more of a joy than a burden. Her own kids eventually all moved out of New Jersey so Helga and Frank made frequent trips to visit them in Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee. In early 2013, after Frank’s passing, Helga joined her children in Columbia Tennessee after living in Wayne for 41 years.
Helga will be remembered and adored for a great spirit of generosity. She always put great thought into the Christmas gifts she bought for her family, always choosing something that she knew they couldn’t buy for themselves. She will be missed but the memories of her will go on in the hearts of those who had the privilege of experiencing her love.
Helga is survived by her son Pearce Hertzberg of Columbia, TN, her daughter Beverly and husband Seth Newburger of Harrisburg, NC, and her daughter Taryn Hertzberg of Columbia, TN; and two grandsons: Justin and John.
She was predeceased by her first husband Ronald Hertzberg in 1998, her second husband Frank Gottas in 2012, and her brother Werner in 1979.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Helga’s name are asked to consider the Humane Society of the United States, Dept.: Memorial Donations, 2100 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 (humanesociety.org) (make checks payable to HSUS) or the National Wildlife Federation, PO Box 1583, Merrifield, VA 22116-1583 (www.nwf.org).
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