Helen Mae Vroom

A Friend To Everyone

Helen Mae Vroom died April 20 at Bermuda Commons, Advance, N.C., surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Mrs Vroom was born March 5, 1931, in Bridgeport to Charles and Edna Sexton Osterberg.

Surviving Mrs Vroom are her daughter, Kimberly Stendahl of Newtown; son, Russell Vroom and wife, Barbara, of Clemmons, N.C.; granddaughters, Sarah, Laura, Alyssa, and Kelly; brother, Kenneth Osterberg and wife, Gloria, of Niantic; sister, Beverly Seale of Fuquay-Varina, N.C.; cousin, Patricia Palumbo and husband, Dominic, of Trumbull; and several nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Vroom; brothers, Jack and Charles; and sisters, Elizabeth, Ruth, and Doris.

She grew up in the Long Hill section of Trumbull and graduated from Bassick High School. After 33 years of residing in Brookfield, she moved to Lewisville, N.C., where she lived for the past five years. Over the course of her life, Mrs Vroom worked at Bridgeport Brass, Macy’s, Perkin Elmer, and as a production control manager for National Can. Most recently she became a consultant for Mary Kay cosmetics. She attended Clemmons Presbyterian Church.

Mrs Vroom was always artistic, energetic, smiling, and a friend to everyone she knew. She always made visitors feel like part of the family and she had a talent for baking, sewing, and making beautiful crafts with her hands, which she gave as gifts. She especially loved music, and her almost daily visits to the gym, but her greatest pleasure was being a devoted mother and grandmother to “the girls.” She will be missed for her pleasant laugh, exceeding generosity, and her big loving hugs.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 am, Saturday, April 26, in St Rose of Lima Church, Newtown. Interment will follow in Resurrection Cemetery. Friends may call at the Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown, Friday, April 25, from 6 to 8 pm.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Clemmons Presbyterian Church Building Fund, PO Box 475, Clemmons NC 27012.

The Newtown Bee        April 25, 2008