By Staff
Helen Barbara (Kosciuk) Lapuc passed away Dec. 1, 2010 at home in hospice care following a short illness. She was married 60 years to Henry Lapuc, who predeceased her in 2000. Helen was the daughter of Stephen and Katherine Kosciuk, who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1890’s from Belarus and Russia. Her son, Paul Lapuc of Chatham, MA; daughter, Mary Ann Jackson of Bath, NC; and son, Peter Lapuc of Catamite, MA, survive her. She is also survived by five grandchildren, a sixth having predeceased her, and five great-grandchildren as well as a myriad of nieces and nephews.
Helen was born and raised in Meriden, Connecticut, a city she liked to refer to as “the center of the universe”. She was employed as a Chief Inspector for the Revere Corporation that made switches for rocket ships. Helen was a pioneer of sorts in flex time. Despite being a full-time employee, she managed to take every summer off to supervise her elementary age and young adolescent children. She also showed keen insight and awareness. When the corporation began to modernize into the computer age, she was directed to get rid of old blueprints and other technical data. Instead of complying with the request, she secreted them in her file cabinet. As an Executive Officer of the company stated at her retirement party, “her perspicacity in squirreling away the data proved invaluable in saving time and money when they had a malfunction in equipment.”
Following her retirement, she and her husband and friends enjoyed several trips throughout Europe and the U.S. She took pride in her and her husband’s sponsoring of many Polish refugees following Glasnost to this country, assisting them in finding jobs and housing with the support of her church.
Helen moved to Bath to be with her daughter and son-in-law three years ago. She made a stunning adjustment to Southern life. She enjoyed immensely the friendships she made and the support of her church. She began referring to herself as Miss Helen. She possessed a keen sense of humor. She loved jokes, funny stories, and possessed self-deprecating humor. She taught her children that “you don’t have to take yourself seriously; someone else will do it for you.”
Helen always had a love of the outdoors. She was an excellent athlete. She especially loved spending time with family at the beach and ocean. As a young mother, she would spend time at her in-laws cottages in Clinton, Connecticut. She loved Cape Cod and more recently Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks. She also had an affinity for the mountains and Pisgah National Forest.
Helen was a woman of strong convictions, she could be stubborn, but she was always loving, caring, and secure in her faith. As one of her daughter’s friends wrote after meeting Helen, “Some people come into our lives and quietly go. Others stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same.” The latter part of this saying so captures the spirit of Helen Lapuc.
A Mass of Resurrection in celebration of her life will be held at Mother of Mercy Church on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010 at 11 a.m. with Father M. Arturo Cabra officiating. An interment of her remains and memorial service for family and friends in the Northeast will be held will be held at an alternate date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Community Home Care &Hospice, 814 Washington Plaza, Washington, NC, 27889.
Arrangements are by Joseph B. Paul, Jr., Funeral Director Licensee of Washington.
Paid Obituary