Obituary of Helen L. Warren

Helen L. Warren died on March 15, 2013 at the Essex Meadows Health Center in Essex, Connecticut. She was 99. She is survived by her son, Thomas D. Warren, her daughter in law, Carol G. Warren, both of Brunswick, Maine, and her grandson, Andrew D. Warren, who currently attends Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Helen was born Helen Lynch is Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, to Francis J. Lynch and Mary Louise (Warnock) Lynch on July 3, 1913. She was one of three sisters. Her mother died in 1916, when she was three years old, and she was thereafter raised in Saint John by her father and two aunts, Ellen J. Lynch and M. Josephine Lynch. Helen graduated from St. Vincent's High School and attended nursing school in Saint John, becoming a registered nurse in the mid 1930s. She thereafter worked at Saint John General Hospital until 1938, when she moved to the United States to work as a nurse at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. At that time she took courses at Columbia University. Subsequently she worked as a nurse at the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children in Springfield, Massachusetts, and then returned to New York City to work at New York Orthopedic Hospital. She became a U.S. Citizen in 1945 and married John D. Warren, an investment banker, in 1948. The couple lived in New York City and in Lyme, Connecticut until 1971. While living in New York, Helen engaged in various charitable activities and served as the president of the Lincoln Fund, a small philanthropic foundation that gave grants to community organizations in the City. In 1975 her husband Jack died, and Helen began residing full time in a residence on River Road in Essex that she and her husband had purchased in 1971. As a resident in Essex, she was on the Board of the Essex Library Association and was an active member of the Essex Library Book Selection Committee. In 1994 she moved into the Essex Meadows Community and lived there for 19 years until her death. A memorial service will be held at Hamilton Hall, Essex Meadows, 30 Bokum Road, Essex, Connecticut on April 14, 2013 at 2:00 pm. Burial will take place in Buffalo, New York in July. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Helen Warren's name to the Essex Library Association, 33 West Avenue, Essex, CT 06426. To share a memory of Helen or to leave condolences for her family, please visit www.rwwfh.com. Arrangements by Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook, Connecticut.