Link to Family Tree to understand family relationships.

Other than the San Francisco Examiner newspaper article about Helene winning a contest, I knew little about her life in San Francisco beyond that of being my kind and loving grandmother, the only grandparent I ever knew. Today’s letter of recommendation gives us a window into her life in the U.S., just two years after her arrival.

October 18, 1948

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN;

It is a pleasure to say that Mrs. Helene Cohen is known to me to be of good character and to be a competent and conscientious housekeeper.

Mrs. Cohen gave to my uncle, for whom she was housekeeper, not only excellent physical care, but was considerate of his mental well being and careful in the management of the expenses of his household.

Very truly yours,

Harry Goodfriend

I searched for Harry Goodfriend and found an obituary for him in the Winter 2012 Lowell Alumni Newsletter. He graduated from Lowell High School in 1928 and died in 2010 at the age of 100. He was in banking for more than 60 years. The in memoriam notice ended by saying “we will all miss Harry, who was a true gentleman and a good friend to a century of people.” As I learn more about my family, I am fascinated by all the people whose paths they crossed. I suppose that’s true for most of us, but we don’t usually see evidence of it.