A girl from the foothills of Greenville, South Carolina who made her home in the Ocean State. A lady who married a WWII hero and raised a family in the village of Manville. A dedicated employee of the local hospital who had a keen eye for treasures many others would have missed. Helen Kazan was all of these and more, so much more. Helen Kazan lived her 94 years to their fullest and indeed it was a most beautiful life.
Helen D. Kazan, 94, of Manville passed away Tuesday August 2, 2022 at St. Antoine Residence in North Smithfield. She was the loving wife of the late Nicholas Kazan. They were married on May 6, 1951 and shared nearly 67 wonderful years together.
Born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina she was a daughter of the late William Henry and Annie Jane (McConnell) McKee. She attended and graduated from high school in Greenville. Helen met a young man named Nick Kazan, a decorated WWII veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor, in Pawtucket and they married in her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. After they married Helen and Nick moved north to Nick’s hometown of Manville. They began their new life and established what would become their home for the next nearly 70 years.
In her earlier years Helen worked as a bookkeeper and at the Broadway Food Center. She was later employed at Woonsocket Hospital/Landmark Medical Center for many years as supervisor in the EKG Department before retiring. Helen was a diligent and faithful employee at the hospital where she took pride in her work as she helped in caring for patients and worked alongside the doctors, nurses and health care workers who staffed the hospital with their mutual and communal dedication to duty.
Helen enjoyed traveling and took a number of trips over the years to various destinations including Europe, Mexico and throughout the United States. Favorite times were when she would return to her southern roots to visit family. Closer to home Helen enjoyed shopping trips and most especially visiting antique stores and dealers as she possessed a keen eye for the treasures of yesteryear. Helen was a very talented cook and her kitchen skills evoked the taste and smell of good old-fashioned down-home cooking from her native South Carolina. Helen could bake a pie like nobody’s business!
Helen’s true legacy is the gift she leaves to those who knew her and her precious family. She leaves a word to comfort and to lift a weary heart. A song to bless. A wreath of love and a rock to lean on. This loving legacy is invested in her dear children who live out her legacy each day.
Helen’s family is eternally grateful to all of the caregivers at St. Antoine for the care and attention she received while a resident at the home.
Helen is survived by her two sons Glenn H. Kazan and his wife Elizabeth of Maine and Gregory P. Kazan and his wife Holly of North Carolina. She was the proud grandmother of Talia, Josiah, Jeremiah, Gayla, Margaret “Meg”, and Theodore “Ted’. She was the great-grandmother of Oleksandr, Cooper and James. Helen was the sister of the late Elizabeth Anders, Blanche Ficklin, Margaret Finley and Doris Seeger. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and their families.
Relatives and friends are invited to honor and remember Helen at her funeral service on Saturday August 6, 2022 at 10:00 am at Menard-Lacouture Funeral Home 127 Carrington Ave. Woonsocket. Helen will be laid to rest alongside her beloved husband Nick at St. Stephens Ukrainian Cemetery in Manville. Visiting hours are Saturday morning from 9:00-10:00 am prior to the service. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to St. Antoine Residence 10 Rhodes Ave. North Smithfield, RI 02896 or Beacon Hospice 1 Catamore Blvd East Providence, RI 02914.
www.menardfuneralhome.com