Helen Carolyn Seda died April 16, 2005, at Whidbey General Hospital, Coupeville, at the age of 90. She was born Feb. 9, 1915, in Chicago, Ill., to Czechoslovakian immigrants Peter and Karolina (Kolar) Jilek.

Helen was raised in the Chicago area along with her brother Otto and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in education from the University of Illinois. She spent the next five years as a teacher at Hiawatha Elementary School in Berwyn, Ill.

Helen married Emil Seda in Berwyn, Ill., June 18, 1939. She left teaching for a time and began her family. Son Lee was born and in 1950 the family moved to the Tanque Verde area of Tucson, Ariz. Eventually she went back to work teaching for the Tucson School District for 15 years.

In 1980, she and Emil moved to Grass Valley, Calif., to be near their son Lee and family. Emil died in 1990 and Helen remained in Grass Valley until 2001 when she moved to Oak Harbor and became a resident of Oak Harbor Retirement Center.

Helen was a long-time Pink Lady volunteer at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tucson, Ariz., and Sierra-Nevada Memorial Hospital in Grass Valley, Calif. She was also an active member of the American Association of University Women and an avid reader and enjoyed gardening.

Helen is survived by her son Lee Seda and wife Nancy of Oak Harbor, grandson Mark Seda of Sedona, Arizona, niece Connie Conklin of Naperville, Ill., and sister-in-law Bess Jilek.

Private family burial to follow in Tucson, Ariz. Arrangements are entrusted to Burley Funeral Chapel.