HELEN LOUISE MARSH

MIDDLEBURY — Our mother, Helen Louise Marsh, passed from this world into the next, early on Dec. 18 at the age of 94. She was a fighter, having successfully made it through surgery for a perforated duodenal ulcer six days earlier. She was always clear that she didn’t want her obituary to say, “She died surrounded by her loving family.” So we won’t say that!

Mom was born on Aug. 31, 1930, in Albany, N.Y., the first child of her parents, Arthur and Helen Pellman. She was both a terror and a delight to her parents. She attended the Albany Academy for Girls, and then got her B.A. from Cornell University, where her parents had met. After Cornell, she worked for an advertising agency in New York City. She told us that “Madmen” was very accurate.

Mom met our father, Peter Marsh, on a blind date in 1952. They married in 1953 and soon had three daughters by 1959. We were raised in Montclair, N.J., and ultimately Mom and Peter divorced in the mid-1970s. Mom relocated to the house at the beach, and was working at the Westerly, R.I., library when she met a patron, Charles Sabukewicz, who loved to talk books, and then almost anything else with her. They joined their lives together and moved to Middlebury, Vt., where Charlie taught for many years at Middlebury Union High School and Mom worked as a secretary for several departments at Middlebury College.

Keeping beautiful gardens and feeding the birds was very important to Mom. She fought squirrels and bears to keep the birds fed. Even after Charlie and Mom moved to an independent living cottage at the Residence at Otter Creek, Mom maintained her gardens, in the end with a lot of help from her stepdaughter, Stephanie Sabukewicz, and some from us.

Mom was like the Energizer Bunny — she kept going and going. She played Wordle every day with us until the last few days. She loved her many friends in Middlebury and at the “Rez,” as well as at St. Stephen’s Church. She led the New Yorker magazine discussion group at the Rez for a long time, and more recently attended it as a participant.

Mom is survived by her daughters, Pam and Lisa, and her sister, Sarah Pellman, of Albany, N.Y. Our youngest sister, Eve, predeceased her in 2015. Mom was also predeceased by her husband, Charles Sabukewicz, almost two years ago. Mom is lovingly remembered as well by her grandchildren Melissa, Rhys, Elena, Peter, Kelly, Madeline and Nolan, and many great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be sent to Homeward Bound, 236 Boardman Street, Middlebury, Vermont 05753 or online at https://www.homewardboundanimals.org/donate/. ◊