LUTEY, Helen Irma Smith

November 7, 1924 - March 1, 2022

Helen Smith Lutey passed away March 1, 2022. Helen lived 97 adventure-packed years and she did not waste a single one. Born in Los Angeles on November 7, 1924, Helen grew up during the golden days of southern California. Her home in Westwood was surrounded by citrus and avocado farms. Helen spent her youth on the beaches of Santa Monica where she performed acrobatics on the rings at Muscle Beach and ice skating on the rinks of Westwood Village. Ice-skating quickly became her passion and while still a teen she was recruited to be a professional ice skater touring the country with the Ice Follies. Helen’s exciting life journey included an informal gathering with President and Mrs. Roosevelt at the White House, hopping a ride on Howard Hughes private jet, becoming a Houston socialite, and travels all over Europe. She married John T. (Jack) Lutey in Houston, Texas and they had three children: Lemoine Helen Lutey, John T. (Jack) Lutey, and Heather Kay Lutey. She would think nothing of loading the children into her 1957 Oldsmobile and driving across the country to spend the summer with their grandmother and their days on the beaches of Santa Monica After divorcing Lutey, Helen moved back to her family home in Westwood and began a new phase. She reconnected with old friends from her Muscle Beach days and joined them in the business of sailing yachts from Fort Lauderdale to Marina del Rey where they would refurbish the yachts for resale. Helen became a sailor and a boatright. She sailed many boats through the Panama Canal. She and a friend sailed a fifty-seven foot motor yacht, the Blue Star, across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and back across through the Panama Canal and home to Marina del Rey. It was a six month adventure. Helen made numerous three-month trips to Europe with her daughters, visiting France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and more. It seemed that England and Ireland became her favorite destinations. Helen remained a staple in Marina del Rey well into her 80’s working mostly on the yachts at Del Rey Yacht Club. She did beautiful bright work and loved working outdoors with her hands. The home her father bought in 1924 was her little oasis in the city of Los Angeles. Helen remained in her family home in Westwood up until a few months before her passing. Helen is survived by her son John T. (Jack) Lutey and his wife Amy KT Lutey, daughter Heather Beresford and her husband Greg Beresford. Helen’s oldest daughter Lemoine Lutey Avant preceded her in death. Grandchildren Devin Somerton (Lemoine’s son) and wife Linda, Austin Lutey, Mathew Lutey and his wife Katrina Salazar, Great grandchildren Madilyn Malia Keeley (Austin’s daughter) and Christina Somerton, and many Nieces and Nephews.