Helen Rebecca Chalfant Green

Helen Rebecca Chalfant Green finally got her wish to join her beloved late husband, Albert Green on November 20, 2013. She was married to her high school sweetheart for 54 years and she carried him in her heart always. She was born on November 2, 1932, and was the daughter of the late Harry (Bud) and Zelvia Chalfant.

Helen graduated from J.P. McCaskey High School and spent the first half of her life as a devoted wife and mother to her five children. She later worked at Hertz’s Grocery and had many dedicated customers at the former Queen Terrace Cafeteria in downtown Lancaster. She was quick to tell her customers which dishes to take or not take based on her opinion of their quality. She was also a former member of First Reformed United Church of Christ in Lancaster.

She enjoyed most sports, but loved football. She especially loved watching her sons compete: Mike in wrestling at McCaskey High School and John and Scott in football at McCaskey and Franklin and Marshall College. Helen was a master at dancing the jitterbug and enjoyed nothing more than a great game of pinochle. Dogs of all kinds knew she had a soft spot for them as they frequently found themselves beneficiaries of her treats. She was known for her down home cooking with many requests from family and friends for her chicken pot pie, macaroni salad, and pear pie.

Helen did not have much in material wealth throughout her life, but she had a lifetime of abundant love and a generous heart, which she passed on to her children. She will be greatly missed by her children, Brenda Becker (Lancaster); Michael Green (Elizabethtown); John Green and wife Cheri (Lancaster); Cathy Bonafede and husband Peter (Lancaster); and Scott Green and wife Zugey (Austin, TX). She will also be missed by her grandchildren: Michael, Josh,  Teresa, and Michelle Green; Katie, Danielle, and Taylor Green, Peter (wife Stella), Anthony (wife Gina), Stephen, and David (wife April) Bonafede; and Lance and Elizabeth Kindbom. Helen also enjoyed her great grandchildren as the newest generation in the family. She leaves behind two beloved brothers, Bob Chalfant (wife Mary) and David Chalfant (wife Marian) and was preceded in death by her sister Emalene Ritchey and brothers Bill Chalfant and Howard (Peck) Chalfant.

Her life will be celebrated on Monday, November 25, 2013 at 3 pm at the Kearney Snyder Funeral Home on 141 East Orange Street in Lancaster. The family will receive family and friends from 1 pm to 3 pm prior to her life celebration at 3 pm.