Obituary of Helen Frances Banschick

Helen Banschick (Yehudis Faiga bas Moshe Yerachmiel) was born on January 17, 1929 in New York, and passed away in her own bed at the ripe old age of 91 on Sept. 30, 2020 in Stamford CT, peacefully, in her sleep. She was born to her parents, Yetta and Moshe, a Jewish family that kept Shabbat and Kashrut, and she would later proudly describe her mother’s adherence to tradition. Weekly trips to the open live chicken market made for an exciting adventure for young Helen, followed by the careful, at-home preparations of the chicken for eating: cutting and salting and all the rest. Sadly, the market closed down in the 50’s, and salting one’s own meat and preparing it at home became a thing of the past, of which the new generations know practically nothing. She grew up through the Great Depression in New York  and she or her mother would create handiwork out of scavenged plants to sell to help support themselves. When Helen Lerner married Sheren Banschick (Shachne Leib ben Yaakov, deceased 13 Kislev - Nov. 28, 2001, Great Neck), they lived a more secular life, raising their three sons, proudly attending the reform Temple Beth El in Great Neck, NY, and actively encouraging the boy’s academic and other interests. One son is a practicing doctor-psychiatry, as well as a noted lecturer and author, one a successful businessman, and one a Torah scholar and computer engineer, as well as a musician. Although wishing to further her own career, the erudite Helen chose to stay home to care for her brood, albeit while continuing creative pursuits like sculpturing on the side. When her youngest reached preadolescence, she felt able to leave home more to pursue her masters degree, which her husband greatly supported. Her love of helping people combined with her excellent rapport with them led her to a successful career in social work, caring for the people of New York’s inner city public schools, who often gratefully felt that they owed their life’s turnaround for the better to her. After retirement she found even more time to devote to her other passion, learning about Judaism and studying Torah. Studying with a Rabbi, reading from one of her many books, or joining a class, she used her learning to inspire her devotion to daily prayer and her interest in always learning more. Keeping fit and healthy was important to her and she remained dedicated to her regular exercise class till her last year and lived in her own home till her last day, having moved from Great Neck first to a village in Port Washington then to Stamford, CT, to be near her devoted son and daughter-in-law. She was a loving mother and grandmother and friend, proud of her offspring, interested in everyone and supportive of their undertakings, often imparting her sage advice to ease the way. She encouraged her family to “eat good food, take care of yourself, and watch your knees.” As her son longingly recalled, “She was my mother. She was my friend. I miss her.”