LEWISTON – Helen Rose Stahl Greenwood, 88, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. Helen was born in Muir, Pa, Jan. 7, 1933 to Eva Christiana Reiner and Clair William Stahl. She was the middle of seven children.

Despite losing her father to a coal mining accident when Helen was five, she always shared fond memories of growing up in Muir and had a close relationship with her siblings. They played many games together outside in the summer and she fondly recalled sledding in a cardboard box with them in the winter. Due to the great depression and family circumstances, she lived with her Aunt Lottie Reiner Unger during her high school years.

At Porter Township High School, she took business courses and played the saxophone. Helen was a keen roller skater in her junior and senior years and was also very active in her church as a teen. Helen enjoyed recalling that at 16 she learned to drive on a baseball field, taking the car around the bases over and over again until she got it down. She proudly and often reminded her children what a great driver she was, never receiving a traffic ticket throughout her entire life. Helen graduated in 1950 and shortly thereafter bravely moved to Harrisburg, Pa. where she shared an apartment with girlfriends and got an office job working for the PA State Dept of Agriculture where she worked for three years. She met her future husband Frank C Greenwood in Harrisburg at a CSO dance as he was a soldier stationed at nearby Fort Indiantown Gap. Helen and Frank married in Muir on April 19, 1952 and spent 64 happy years together. They eventually moved to Maine, living in Lewiston, Monmouth, Leeds, and Jay over the years. As newlyweds in Lewiston, they lived in an apartment upstairs from a future Maine Governor where Helen babysat his future Congressman son while Frank worked in the woolen mill. Helen was a dedicated wife and the most wonderful and loving mother to her five children. She embraced her job as a homemaker in many ways and did it well. She supported her children’s activities and events and was their biggest cheerleader. Helen was a great cook who created wonderful meals for her family including a couple of German inspired dishes as homage to her heritage. Her homemade pies were the cherry on top to a delicious meal. Helen took very good care of her family and made their life full.

She and Frank always had a large garden where a variety of vegetables were grown. She worked hard to harvest the crop and canned or froze them for her family to enjoy throughout the winter. Helen had a green thumb as well and grew beautiful flowers all over the property. She also had lovingly transplanted several plants and flowers from her childhood home in Pennsylvania, propagating them to each place she lived and beyond. Among her favorites were a firebush and smoke tree but most cherished was her mother’s beautiful rosebush.

In her spare time, Helen enjoyed knitting and crocheting. She created beautiful afghans and hundreds of dishcloths that now fill the drawers of her children and grandchildren. She also loved bird watching, puzzles and crosswords and watching baseball and football with her husband. She and Frank enjoyed traveling and would venture out on long road trips to visit their children who lived all across the country. Helen was a loving grandmother and took great joy in spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In 2005, using her excellent computer skills, Helen took on the huge project of creating a comprehensive genealogy report for the Stahl and Greenwood families. Helen was a member of Leeds Community Church, and later the Jay Baptist Church.

Helen was predeceased by her parents Eva and Clair; her siblings Elizabeth, Richard, Earl, Mae, and Clair (Bill), husband Frank; and son Brian. She is survived by her brother Dean of Madison, Wis.; her children, Joanne Greenwood of Lewiston, Keith Greenwood and wife Katrina of Englewood, Fla., Janet O’Brien of Milpitas, Calif., Sarah Havlock and husband Malcolm of Tilton, N.H., her daughter-in-law, Sue Greenwood of Milford, Mass.; 11 grandchildren, Anneka Jasmin, Gerrett Jasmin, Jennifer Hawthorne, Kimberly Propert, Christopher Greenwood, Christine Havlock, Jonathan Greenwood, Andrew Havlock, Patrick O’Brien, Megan O’Brien, and Brandon Havlock; four step-grandchildren, Krystina and Joshua Murray, Stacy Williams, and Zac Stearn; 10 great-grandchildren, Kiersten, Anders, Felix, Lilliana, Abigail, Cassandra, Quinn, Phoebe, Orion, and Henry. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Helen was a beautiful, gentle and loving woman who always had a kind word for everyone. She will be sorely missed. Messages of condolence may be sent to: http://www.finleyfuneralhome.com

A service will be announced at a later date. Interment Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 163 Mount Vernon Road, Augusta, Maine. Arrangements by BRAGDON-FINLEY FUNERAL HOME, 707 Main Street, Monmouth, Maine.