Helen Real

HELEN REAL Helen Real passed away on May 14, 2012. She was born in Vienna, Austria in October 1919, and crossed the ocean with her parents as a child to settle in the United States. In two years she had learned English well enough to skip a grade in school. She spent her girlhood in Pasadena, California. Helen was a professor of English who taught British and American Literature, composition, and technical writing for years in the California State University system. She also wrote and edited publications for a number of energy corporations and related industries. Her clients included the Arabian-American Oil Company (Aramco) and the builders of the Alaska Pipeline and Prudhoe Bay oil field. Helen fell in love with Southwest Colorado during one of many journeys, and moved to this area in 1992 after she retired. She was an essentially private person who nevertheless loved to meet new people. Her closer friendships were few but deeply held, and she was a kind and good neighbor to all. She was a passionate reader of history and current events, and full of opinions she was not reluctant to share. Throughout her life she gave deeply of herself as a perennial volunteer: She recorded books and articles for the blind and taught in adult literacy programs. For 19 years she volunteered at the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, where she shared her enthusiasm for local history and culture with museum visitors. She was always available to work an extra shift at the visitors' desk, or to offer her expertise in editing educational materials. Helen traveled throughout the world. Travel was her one great love and luxury. She visited every continent including Antarctica, and toured the Panama Canal with friends during her final year. Helen was not married, and left no descendants. She is survived by her brother John Zaycher of Pasadena, CA, and her cousin Marion Spinks of Palos Verdes, CA. At Helen's request, her ashes will be scattered in the Pacific Ocean that she loved. No services are planned.