HELEN DAVIDSON

07/25/1925 - 10/24/2022

Helen Begeny Davidson passed away on October 24, 2022 with family members comforting her in her final hours. Helen was born in Ludlow, Pennsylvania on July 25th, 1925, and was blessed to enjoy ninety-seven trips around the sun,

Helen is survived by her daughter Jane Sheehan of Denver, Colorado, and her two sons, David Davidson of Arlington, Virginia and Mark Davidson of Bellaire, as well as four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She is also survived by two sisters Barbara Travis of San Jose California and Jo Anne Walker of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, as well as seventeen nieces and nephews.

Helen was predeceased by her husband, John Berry Davidson, who died in 1974. Also predeceasing her are her parents, John Begeny, Sr. and Mary Gduricsko Begeny, her three brothers, John Begeny, Jr., George Begeny and Donald Begeny, and four of her sisters, Anne Hollock, Mary Dahl, Margaret (Peggy) Davis, and Patricia Higham. She also was predeceased by her oldest grandchild Lt. Col Aaron Michael Frey.

Helen lived a long life, and lived it very well. She grew up in the Allegheny Mountains during the Depression. Her parents had immigrated to America from AustriaHungary, from an area now known as Ukraine, only twenty years before she was born. She moved to New Jersey as a teenager, and graduated from Grover Cleveland High School in Caldwell, New Jersey in 1944. She was attending George Washington University when she met and married a naval veteran and patent attorney from Texas, Jack Davidson. They married in 1952 in Sheffield, Pennsylvania. The next year, she started the job she excelled in - raising children. She gave all of her children love and instilled in each a quest to get a good education. She volunteered in numerous school, church, and civic activities.

After ten years of marriage, Jack developed Hodgkin’s Disease. Helen pushed him and helped him fight its effects for twelve years. She was always a loving wife who kept him going when treatment made him tired. When he died, she mourned, but decided to focus on the living, helping to raise her children into adulthood. When she became a grandmother, she gave love and attention to each of her five grandchildren.

Helen had a broad variety of occupations and interests. She worked in the Public Service Division of the Internal Revenue Service for many years. She was a Democratic Precinct Chair and the Election Judge for Precinct 305 for thirty-four years. In 1983, she served as the presiding juror of the Harris County Grand Jury. After her retirement, she volunteered at the Catholic Charity Guild’s resale shop two days a week.

She had an indomitable spirit and could light up a room with her elegance and her smile. Her family and friends will miss her greatly, and are thankful of the joy she gave to all of us. The family would like to thank the staff of Tradition - Buffalo Speedway and Evergreen Private Care for their loving attention and care in her final years.

A memorial mass of remembrance will be said at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. There will be a funeral and internment at a later date. Any charitable donations in Helen’s memory may be made to St. Michael the Archangel Byzantine Catholic Church, 407 School Street, Sheffield, PA 16347 or to the charity of your choice. We also request prayers for Helen and her family.