Helen Irene Neely

Helen Irene Neely, 97, of Butler passed away Thursday at Butler Memorial Hospital.

Born May 17, 1919, in Butler, she was the daughter of the late Samuel Miller and Anna Pearl MacDonald Benninger.

Helen's father owned a barbershop on Main Street, below the courthouse, in Butler, and her mother owned a beauty shop adjacent to it. She was extremely proud at how they worked as a team to provide for their family.

Helen studied voice and loved her music. She could have had a singing career, but she did not pursue it in order to raise her children. She worked as an licensed practical nurse at the Erie Veterans Hospital until her disability required her to retire.

Helen loved animals, especially the family pets. She also enjoyed doing crossword puzzles, sewing, crafting, baking and cooking. Her two specialties were homemade apple pie and vegetable soup. Helen will be dearly missed and lovingly remembered.

She leaves behind to cherish her memory, her daughter, Rhonda, and her husband, Joe Hasychak, of Meridian; two grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, Helen was preceded in death by one son, Frederick “Fred” L. Neely; her brothers, Samuel Miller Jr., twins Donald Alonzo and Daniel Eugene, and Robert LaMar Benninger; and three sisters, Betty Belle Hutchison and her husband, Francis “Hutch,” Alice Catherine Garland and Phyllis Jane Hallberg.

NEELY — Private services for Helen Irene Neely, who died Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, were at the Boylan Funeral Home & Cremation Center of Connoquenessing Township, 856 Evans City Road, Renfrew.Helen was laid to rest at the Chapel of Devotion Mausoleum at Butler County Memorial Park.Memorial donations may be made in her honor to the Butler Public Library, 218 N. McKean St., Butler, PA 16001, or the Butler County Humane Society, 1015 Evans City Rd., Renfrew, PA 16053.Expressions of sympathy may be shared with the family at www.boylanfuneralservices.com.