Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Helen Louise Floerchinger was born to Ruby and Frank Floerchinger in Neola, Iowa, in 1928. She was the youngest born after siblings Marjorie and Robert. Raised on the family farm, her father was a farmer, while her mother was an elementary schoolteacher. Her mother played the piano and the organ and gave her love of music to the next generation. In fact, Helen learned to play the piano at a young age. The children were raised Catholic. Helen milked the cows, collected eggs from the chickens, and shucked the corn from the garden. But, Helen didn't care for farm life. In fact, she was picked on by her big brother and sister for being the youngest. She didn't like chores and preferred to stay in and help her mom in the kitchen, sew, and do things inside the house. She liked to tell stories about getting kicked while trying to milk a cow and getting laughed at. She graduated from high school in Iowa in 1946. Helen went on to earn a Bachelors of Science Degree from Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls in 1950. Farming wasn't for her, so looking back it is no wonder she seemed destined to move away and move west. She remained proud of her Iowa heritage, but preferred the more convenient and promising life that California offered her in the 50s.

She gave up life on the farm and embarked on a teaching career, first teaching kindergarten for two years at Duncombe Elementary School in Fort Dodge. It was at that time, she met her future husband, Sol Ashkenaze. Sol had been raised in a conservative Jewish household. His parents were immigrants from Warsaw, Poland. His grandfather traveled to the United States in 1908 and was a watchmaker who set up shop in Iowa. Sol served in the United States Army overseas during WWII before the couple met. Even though they had diverse backgrounds, the couple hit it off and started dating. In 1955, Helen and Sol eloped and married before a Justice of the Peace in Blue Earth, Minnesota. It was challenging at first, as the couple lived apart for a year. They had teaching jobs in different areas of Iowa, but the couple always spent holidays together. When Helen impressed master teachers from the West Coast who came to the Midwest to recruit talented young teachers, she landed the opportunity to move to California after a successful telephone interview with future Superintendent of Schools of the Long Beach Unified School District, Vernon Hinze. Helen began at MacArthur Elementary School. Sol moved to Long Beach a year later, earning a job at Hoover Junior High and later as the Chairman for Foreign Languages at Lakewood High School. Helen and Sol were thrilled to have two sons: David and Robert. They loved being parents. Professionally, Helen taught for 25 years in the Long Beach Unified School District. She became a much sought substitute teacher after taking a hiatus from full-time teaching to raise her two sons. Both Helen and Sol were life-long teachers. Helen loved kids and she loved teaching. In fact, she is remembered as a great teacher in the LBUSD.

Helen and Sol were traditional parents. Dinner meals were always spent together and Helen was a great cook, making three home-cooked meals a day. Helen's dinners were the best: Roast, Fried Chicken, "Meat in the Oven", Tacos, Tostadas, Pizza, Pork Chops were some of what the family liked the most. Helen introduced her family to Mexican food in the 60s and 70s when it wasn't that popular. Her version of a taco wouldn't resemble anything like a taco you can get today, but they were really tasty, and something Bob requested quite often for that one night a year when they got to choose what they had for dinner, on their birthday! Her version used something closer to catsup than real salsa, and she fried flour tortillas, filled them with ground hamburger meat, lettuce, and chopped tomatoes. She even made a game out of eating tacos having a contest to see who could keep their plates the cleanest. Helen's pizza was great because she made her own pizza dough, used a spicy pepperoni, and served the pie on a special pizza pie dish with matching plates that over the years have broken one by one, but Helen's pizza and those plates are something David and Bob will always remember.

Helen always seemed to end up with extra pie dough after baking one of her pies. Looking back at it now, it was probably all carefully planned out that way. Of all her dishes she will be remembered by, this may be one of tops. Helen would roll out the pie dough and after trimming the extra dough off the rim, she'd always seem to have erred and made a little too much! Or maybe even a lot too much! She would roll the excess part out too, dab some butter (or oleo, as she'd call it), prick it with the tines of a fork and sprinkle with a mixture a cinnamon and sugar. Pop it in the oven and a few minutes later after crisping up and turning a bronzed-golden brown, she presented the kids with something that was pretty magical: Cinnamon Pie Crust! If this was fresh out of the oven, and Sol was standing at the backdoor saying "Hey boys let's go play ball!" the boys would reply, "That's OK Dad you go ahead—we're staying right here!"

As a mom, Helen was strict and structured, yet loving and supportive in every way. Anything the boys did, she always said she was proud of both of them. The boys kept their hair short and helped with chores around the house. Sol always helped the boys with Indian Guides, baseball and basketball. Sol never missed attending a game as he taught the boys how to throw a ball and how to bat. Sol was a collegiate baseball player as baseball was always his first love. For birthdays, Helen loved creating special occasions and giving the boys cards. She was a room-mother several years in grade school for both of her sons. In Bob's kindergarten year (and probably David's too) she sent a note to the teacher volunteering to help launder the painting aprons we would wear during "art." It was a little embarrassing at first as Bob was called up in front of the class and Mrs. Arnold handed him a huge laundry bag of soiled aprons to take home to Helen. The next day though, he showed up with a bag full of crisply folded aprons ready for another day of wear. His classmates liked that and Bob felt good inside that he had helped his mom bring the laundry back and forth.

Helen had played high school varsity basketball. She was tall for a girl in Iowa back in the 40s. Sol enjoyed watching sports on TV, particularly basketball. Helen didn't let on at first. She would kind of find something to do within view of the TV when the Lakers were playing. She liked Chick Hearn, the voice of the Lakers. She impressed her sons and husband when she chimed in with a sports opinion of her own one night, when they were sitting around talking 'hoops.' Turned out she had some favorite players, and some players she didn't care for. The boys and Sol were often taken aback when she would show off a little of her sports knowledge. She would say, "I used to play that game…I know a thing or two about basketball!"

The boys feel that Helen sacrificed a lot for the benefit of them. Their summers were kept busy. Little league baseball games twice a week plus practices, and the boys played sports with YMCA groups year around. Also during summers Long Beach State offered a LB State 49'er Camp for a few weeks where the boys could participate in a variety of sporting endeavors. They also took swimming lessons, golf lessons, tennis lessons, and archery lessons. Helen helped make those all possible, supporting the boys where their interests laid, while passing up on not going out to fancy restaurants, no luxurious trips, and she didn't keep a lavish wardrobe. Helen and Sol's own entertainment routines were simple and down to earth, entertaining at home with couples from Sol's school, playing bridge the first Saturday of each month rotating at each couples' homes, or going out to eat to celebrate friends' birthdays. The boys didn't see too many movies nor did they visit Disneyland and other parks more than once a year, keeping those times when they did go out very special. Helen was expert at passing the time at home and promoting family togetherness. Evenings of staying in and playing hide-the-thimble were a treat for David and Bob. She made games like that more fun by playing with them. The boys always had a lot of fun board games to play or sitting around a table to work on a jigsaw puzzle together. When Grandma would visit for long stretches of time or for the Christmas holidays, the boys would play the card game Spite and Malice every night after dinner. Or Helen would take the boys to the neighborhood art store and let them pick out a model car to put together. Helen knew how to create situations where big brother was there to help little brother and taught them how to get along well.

During the summer, Helen and boys traveled by train to Iowa for a month so the boys could spend time with their cousins and extended family. David remembers it was so much fun on the farm and they'd chase little pigs and enjoy riding on old tractors. Helen always loved the farm and liked visiting all of her relatives. She shared her love of music with both David and Bob. Both of the boys took piano lessons. David remembers practicing the piano an hour every day, meanwhile, Bob played the drums and violin. Bob also played in the orchestra in elementary school. When the boys wanted a dog, Helen finally said yes. The family adopted a mixed terrier from the animal shelter when David was in Junior High School. They named the dog Rusty and everyone loved that dog. David even considered being a veterinarian for a while. One of the greatest highlights was traveling to Europe for six months. Sol took a sabbatical in 1973 and the family traveled all over Europe. They rented a car and drove from town to town. Even though the boys missed a few months of school, it was the adventure of a lifetime. Cooking contests were no brainers for Helen. In fact, she wore out her welcome after awhile. The Women's Club of Long Beach held semi-regular cooking contests. She won almost every one she entered. It got old after awhile. Not for the family as she let Bob or David go. Bob remembers they would give the kids a toy or crayons and a coloring book or something fun to do, but it got old for the coordinators and they stopped inviting Helen to give others a fair chance at winning.

Helen had many favorites in life. She liked playing Scott Joplin music on the piano and songs of the 30s and 40s. Helen loved doing crossword puzzles and she had a good knack for English. She also gardened and cared for roses in the backyard of the family home in Long Beach for more than 50 years. She loved going to garage sales on Saturdays and looking for bargains, knick-knacks, antiques and Hummel figurines. Her favorite colors were pinks and lavenders, as she often dressed in those colors. Her favorite gemstone was turquoise and she loved to show off a few examples on dressy occasions.

Both boys remember that their mother never pressured them in a certain career or to get married and have kids. Instead, she supported David's decision to go to medical school and his residency and with Bob, she supported his college choice and his career goals. Helen always rose to the occasion to celebrate her sons' birthdays. Bob's freshman year away at college, she baked a cake, decorated it, and put it in a box and mailed it to him! Bob was at the age, trying to establish independence and set himself apart a little so it was a little embarrassing to be the only guy in the dorm whose mother sent him a cake. Funny thing was the cake was a disaster when it arrived, you'd never know what it was it was so messed up from the handling and delivery. Bob asked her why she did such a thing: did she actually think the cake would arrive intact? No, she knew the cake would probably not resemble her original design. But that didn't stop her devotion to her son and desire to show her love. That wouldn't stop her. She added, "Well, it will get messed up when you cut into it and start eating it. It will still taste good!"

Helen was thrilled to welcome each one of her grandchildren. As a grandmother, she was wonderful. She was known as "Grandma" and Sol was known as "Grandpa." They even had a sign outside of their house that said, "The cookie jar is open 24-hours a day." And the cookie jar was open 24-hours a day because her grandchildren loved visiting and knew she would offer them some nice treats to eat!

Helen picked unusual moments to express herself and impress Bob. They had a birthday party for his Mother-in-Law while they were living in Mexico. Mexican culture is very "fiesta" oriented and Helen was traditionally conservative and keeps close to the vest. But this was a special occasion and Bob hired Mariachis to play. Bob heard them coming and thought, "Oh no, my parents are not going to like this!" Bob didn't even particularly enjoy mariachi music, so he imagined the worst. They strolled in and played a few tunes, then played the classic dance number: Mariachi Loco. After rolling his eyes, Bob turned around to see where his mother was. His Mom was dancing on the floor like he could not believe! No inhibitions, just cutting loose as they say, having a really good time. "Was that really my mom?" he asked. That moment was one of the defining moments for Helen in the eyes of Bob's wife, Maricela, who also dances to Mariachi music from time to time. Bob thinks their relationship was bonded together permanently from that day on.

In her golden years, Helen's passion was crossword puzzles. Sunday wouldn't come fast enough for her. She was like a kid waiting for opening day of baseball season to come. It got so that Sunday was too long to wait. She got Sol run out to Thrifty's on Saturday nights to get the early edition of the Sunday times. Then she had Sol research this and find the locations around town that had the earliest drops of the Sunday paper. She attacked Dad as he got in the house and who cares about the Calendar section or the Sunday Parade. She needed her fix and she got it when she unraveled the paper and found the crossword. She was a crossword junkie. She carried a pocket-sized electronic crossword gizmo in her purse. She had fun with those and made it a game between the two of them, as Sol liked to show off he could do them in ink.

Sol retired in the mid-80s and Helen retired in 1989. The couple enjoyed a life of travel in retirement, as they were smart in saving their money. There were Tauck Tours, many cruises and several trips overseas. In fact, they took a few trips every year. In the 90s, they traveled to Russia and their last trip to China was in 2007. Helen was active in various community organizations including doing volunteer work at the Community Hospital of Long Beach and Las Hermanas, an auxiliary of Assistance League of Long Beach, where she was past President. Helen impressed all of the family (and probably made Sol a little jealous) when she somehow developed some pretty good computer skills while in her 70s. She knew how to type, of course, but she was mostly self-taught on the computer. Of the two, she would be the one sending the emails, playing an occasional game of Free Cell, and putting word processing skills to work for the Las Hermanas group. She liked using the PC and didn't mind it's slower than a snail's pace connection speeds. She always told her family, "I have all day…or I don't have anywhere I need to be… I can wait." She got on to it and used greeting card software to design and print out colorful cards for special occasions in the family. Both Helen and Sol worked on Election Day, as they were devoted volunteers. They worked as recently as 2008 to help voters on Election Day, spending all day from 6 am to 8 pm at the voting booth.

David and Bob will miss telling their mother about the grandchildren, as they loved spending time with the kids. Helen's granddaughter Ruby, who is half Mexican, was named after Helen's mother, and Ruby was given the Latinized version of Helen, "Helena," as a middle name in honor of Helen. She may be gone but her recipes live on. She'll be remembered by the dishes she would bring to family get-togethers: Deviled Eggs, Waldorf Salads, and Thanksgivings won't be the same anymore without "Mom's Candied Sweet Potatoes." A few months ago, Bob thought back to the days of his youth, when he took sack lunches to school everyday. He was trying to get ideas for his own daughters' lunches, which he tries to make with the same care and attention that Helen did. Bob raided her alphabetized recipe box of several of his favorite cookies and treats she would make for their lunches. Since then, Bob has been faithfully recreating those recipes each week for his kids' school lunches. His daughters, Rosa and Ruby, are getting a taste of Mom's cooking through him, and he hears them asking for their new favorites, the same as he did back then with his mother: Brownies, Scotcheroos, Mounds Bars, Sorry Cookies, Peanut Butter Cookies, Reese's Peanut Butter Bars and Snickerdoodles. "Mom, I never did find that Crocodile Bar recipe!"

She was always so proud of everyone in the family. Helen Ashkenaze will best be remembered as intelligent, gifted, and very intuitive. As Helen was raised Catholic and believed in God and Heaven, the family believes they will be reunited with her one day. She passed away peacefully in her home. Her advice to her grandchildren would be to do well in school and know she was always proud of them because they're the brightest kids.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents and siblings Marjorie and Robert. She is loved and remembered by her husband Sol; son David and his wife Mary Kaye; son Robert and his wife Maricela; and grandchildren Kerry, Joshua, Rosa Elvia, and Ruby.

Memorial donations are welcome in Helen's name to the Las Hermanas Auxiliary, Assistance League of Long Beach www.allb.org/lashermanas.htm.

For Sol Ashkenaze's online memorial visit www.celebrantpam.com/memorials/solashkenaze.html.