Helen L. (Bair) Tracy

HELEN LOUISE TRACY

Helen Louise Tracy passed away Saturday evening, October 12th, after a courageous three year battle with Leukemia.  How do you summarize the love you feel for another, the impact they had on the world around you, the lives they touched, the void left by their passing? It is with tears of sorrow and joyful memory we share Helen’s story. A daughter, sister, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, and friend. Helen was all of these things and more.

Born in 1949 to George and Marguerite Bair of McSherrystown, Pennsylvania, Helen was the second youngest of five beautiful daughters; Donna, Joan, Peg, and Rita. Helen met her husband, Gerald Tracy, when she was 18. It was love. They married in 1969. Gerald was drafted and stationed in Germany. She followed her soul-mate across the Atlantic, and they spent two years together in Europe. They later bought their first home in Centre Hall. At the age of 26, she had her first child, Mark. She showered him with love. Four and a half years later, her second son, Ryan, arrived and her love continued to grow. It was soon time to begin a new chapter in Elizabethtown. The small, young family made a home in a farm house in the country. Within a few years, they had their third son, John. She always took the opportunity to take her children outside to play in the flowerbed or go for a walk. A tudor house on top of a hill would be their next home. Together with “her boys”, this home was a paradise. Apple orchards grew across the street, and pastures clung to the hill opening up to views of Lancaster and York stretching into the horizon. Helen and Gerald had dreams of creating their own space in the country outside of Elizabethtown. They would turn this dream into reality. They made one final move to a farm. Here Helen watched over her garden and filled her house with love. Helen’s family continued to grow with two daughters-in-law, Carrie and Chrissy. They would bless her with two grandchildren, Lila and Abram. Watching the growth of her family filled her with joy. Helen loved her family, but more than that, she was in love with her family.

Helen was never a material person; instead she found comfort in giving. She cherished time with her family. To the very end, her thoughts were of others and their needs. Helen touched many lives, and the world is a better place for her having lived. Though it feels that her life ended too soon, it was complete in so many ways. Thank you to everyone who contributed to her life.

Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10:30am on Friday, October 18, 2013 at St. Peter Catholic Church, 904 Mill Road, Elizabethtown, PA, with Rev. Father David L. Danneker as celebrant. Burial will be in St. Peter Catholic Church Cemetery, Elizabethtown, PA.

Viewings will be from 6pm until 8pm on Thursday, October 17, 2013 and from 9:30am until 10:30am on Friday, October 18, 2013 in St. Peter Catholic Church.

Arrangements are under the care of the Miller-Sekely Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. of Elizabethtown. www.millerfuneralhome.com .

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in honor of Helen to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at Central Pa Chapter LLS, 2405 Park Drive, Suite 100, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 17110.