Obituary for Helen Marie Sebulski
Funeral Mass for Helen Marie (Velikonya) Sebulski, 73, of Mentor, will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 20, at St. John Vianney Church, 7575 Bellflower Road, Mentor.
She passed away at Heather Hill Care Communities July 17, 2022, after living with Alzheimer’s Disease for several years.
Helen is survived by her loving husband of 50 years, John D. Sebulski; her hilarious children, Lori (Sean) Caszatt, Lynn (Dan) Kraynik and John V. Sebulski; three grandchildren, Devin, Patrick and Sophie; sisters and brothers, nieces, nephews and many friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Paul and Helen (nee Lekutis) Velikonya.
Helen was born in Cleveland, to Paul and Helen Velikonya and was a 1966 graduate of North High School.
Helen spent most of her career working as a legal secretary and was a proud member of the Lake County Democratic Party, where she served as Secretary. As much as Helen enjoyed politics and telling complete strangers how they should vote, nothing could compare to her love of “other people’s crap” when she would go thrift shopping with her daughter, Lynn. Helen would buy clothing that may have not been in her size or color, just because they were on clearance, and proudly say, “I will just wear it to the grocery store.” She couldn’t pass up a bargain.
Helen could cut a rug on the dance floor and boogied down with the best of them. Music was a large part of her life. She had the opportunity to see her favorite musicians in concert including Bob Seger, Neil Diamond and Simon and Garfunkel with her daughter, Lori. After a long day of drinking wine with her sisters at the wineries (White Fox was her favorite), she would head home and watch ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ with her son, John. They had a nightly ritual of watching the show together and have seen all the episodes at least six times.
Helen never met a slot machine she didn’t love. After she retired, she enjoyed taking day trips and going to the casino with her husband, John. Helen was also an avid bingo player and enjoyed games of pinochle and poker with family and friends. Helen had a laugh that could be heard from miles away and her brother had the exceptional talent of making her laugh until she cried. Her favorite movies were Dirty Dancing and The Replacements, and she would watch them over and over. She enjoyed reminiscing about her childhood, eating Big Boy’s, going out to lunch and the donut shop with her sister-in-law, and listening to her daughters sing every word of Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby.”
Helen was a lover of all animals. Towards the end of her life, she lost her two beloved rescue cats, Sienna and Willow who brought her much joy and comfort. Every morning, the neighborhood squirrels would gather for a meeting in the yard because they knew she would be out soon with handfuls of peanuts.
A private family burial will be held.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Helen’s memory to the Lake Humane Society, 7564 Tyler Blvd., Building E, Mentor, OH 44060 or online at www.lakehumane.org.
Arrangements are entrusted to McMahon-Coyne-Vitantonio Funeral Homes in Willoughby and Mentor.
To leave condolences for the family, visit www.MCVfuneralhomes.com.
She passed away at Heather Hill Care Communities July 17, 2022, after living with Alzheimer’s Disease for several years.
Helen is survived by her loving husband of 50 years, John D. Sebulski; her hilarious children, Lori (Sean) Caszatt, Lynn (Dan) Kraynik and John V. Sebulski; three grandchildren, Devin, Patrick and Sophie; sisters and brothers, nieces, nephews and many friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Paul and Helen (nee Lekutis) Velikonya.
Helen was born in Cleveland, to Paul and Helen Velikonya and was a 1966 graduate of North High School.
Helen spent most of her career working as a legal secretary and was a proud member of the Lake County Democratic Party, where she served as Secretary. As much as Helen enjoyed politics and telling complete strangers how they should vote, nothing could compare to her love of “other people’s crap” when she would go thrift shopping with her daughter, Lynn. Helen would buy clothing that may have not been in her size or color, just because they were on clearance, and proudly say, “I will just wear it to the grocery store.” She couldn’t pass up a bargain.
Helen could cut a rug on the dance floor and boogied down with the best of them. Music was a large part of her life. She had the opportunity to see her favorite musicians in concert including Bob Seger, Neil Diamond and Simon and Garfunkel with her daughter, Lori. After a long day of drinking wine with her sisters at the wineries (White Fox was her favorite), she would head home and watch ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ with her son, John. They had a nightly ritual of watching the show together and have seen all the episodes at least six times.
Helen never met a slot machine she didn’t love. After she retired, she enjoyed taking day trips and going to the casino with her husband, John. Helen was also an avid bingo player and enjoyed games of pinochle and poker with family and friends. Helen had a laugh that could be heard from miles away and her brother had the exceptional talent of making her laugh until she cried. Her favorite movies were Dirty Dancing and The Replacements, and she would watch them over and over. She enjoyed reminiscing about her childhood, eating Big Boy’s, going out to lunch and the donut shop with her sister-in-law, and listening to her daughters sing every word of Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby.”
Helen was a lover of all animals. Towards the end of her life, she lost her two beloved rescue cats, Sienna and Willow who brought her much joy and comfort. Every morning, the neighborhood squirrels would gather for a meeting in the yard because they knew she would be out soon with handfuls of peanuts.
A private family burial will be held.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Helen’s memory to the Lake Humane Society, 7564 Tyler Blvd., Building E, Mentor, OH 44060 or online at www.lakehumane.org.
Arrangements are entrusted to McMahon-Coyne-Vitantonio Funeral Homes in Willoughby and Mentor.
To leave condolences for the family, visit www.MCVfuneralhomes.com.