Helen Josephine Dikun

It is with sadness and joy that we celebrate the passing of our mother, Helen Josephine Dikun (nee Piela) on February 21, 2023. She celebrated her 98th birthday in December 2022. After a brief illness, she has now joined her husband Peter in eternal life. They shared 65 years of marriage. Born in 1924 to Katarzyna and Michael Piela, she was the youngest of their children. She leaves behind her treasured family: her son Garret and his wife Susan, her son Mark, and her daughter Cynthia and her husband Stephen Novak. Helen always enjoyed spending time with her 7 grandchildren: Michael Dikun, Marci Charlip (Larry), Chad Dikun, Bryan Dikun (Lynn), James Novak (Leia), Nicole Jackson (Sean) and Melissa Novak. She was blessed with 5 great grandchildren: Ella Dikun, Brayden Linderman, Madelyn Jackson, Keira Novak, William Linderman and the upcoming birth of another great granddaughter. If asked she would tell you that her family was her greatest blessing in life. Her family loves her very much, and we will all miss her deeply as she was the foundation of this family. After graduating Garfield High School, she moved to Wallington with her parents. When Peter joined the United States Navy, she said she would wait for his return and then marry him. She was a bookkeeper at Curtiss-Wright Corporation in Wood-Ridge, NJ, doing her part to support the war effort. They married in 1946 after he safely returned home. She then worked at Passaic General Hospital until she gave birth to her first child. Raising her family was her priority now. While she raised her family, she was the original 'Work from Home' bookkeeper and rental agent for Bay Breeze Cottages in Ortley Beach, NJ and Connie and Piela's, in Normandy Beach, NJ. Both were family seaside vacation properties. In 1972, she joined her husband's adventure and became the bookkeeper for his company, Table Ready Meats. They worked together until their retirement. She also enjoyed tending to the flowers in her garden and the different travel excursions that they took together. Helen is a 78-year devoted parishioner of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Church of Wallington, NJ, and longtime member of the church's Rosary Confraternity. She served as Treasurer in 1990 and 2004 and as Vice President in 1992. Often others would ask her the secret to her longevity to which she always replied that daily prayer gave her continued strength. Her daily prayer is: 'Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be open onto you'. She is predeceased by her husband Peter, her parents Katarzyna and Michael, and her siblings Violet Mihalik and Edward Piela. She is loved by her surviving sister-in-law Julia Strusiak and many cousins, nephews, nieces, and devoted friends. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (www.stjude.org/donate), Foundation to Eradicate Duchenne (https://duchennemd.org/general-donation-form) or The John Theurer Cancer Center (92 2nd St, Hackensack, NJ 07601). Please click the link below to see Helen's Memorial Photo Slideshow: https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/SDFMCHH4NT3BD4X7

Helen Josephine Dikun

December 6, 1924 - February 21, 2023