WILMINGTON — Helene Dolores Baginski Pasin passed away peacefully in Wilmington on Wednesday, January 19, 2022. Helene was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 14th, 1928, to Caroline “Lola” and Edward Baginski.
She was the oldest of three children, with her brothers, Edward and Richard. She was nicknamed “Lali,” as a young girl by her father, because her dad considered her “his little doll.” She showed musical talent early and studied the piano into adulthood. She went to Senn High School in Chicago, then to University of Chicago, earning a degree in education. She began her career as a kindergarten teacher in the late 40’s – early 50’s, then later as an art teacher in the 1960’s and 70’s. She pursued art most of her life, with a renewed vigor over the past ten years.
“Lali” met and married the love of her life, Joseph Zdislaw Ptasinski, in the mid-1950’s, marrying March 2, 1957. This, she said, was after first dating his best friend, who introduced them. She liked Zdisiu much better! Before marrying she spent time overseas teaching and Joe pursued her until she agreed to come back and marry him. They married and she gave birth to two sons, Richard “Ricky,” and Christopher “Chris” Pasin.
They first lived in Chicago, but then moved to Ellicott City, MD, a close-knit neighborhood called Guilford Downs, in 1960. There the boys went to Glenelg Country School, where she taught art. In 1967, the family moved to New City, NY, where the boys attended Link Elementary School and she taught. As they approached high school age, the family moved to a beautiful home in West Nyack, NY.
After the boys graduated and went off to college, she and Joe retired to Pompano Beach, Florida, where they enjoyed retirement by the beach for two decades. During this time, she saw her sons marry and became “Babi” to her six grandchildren, by age RJ, Taylor, Alexandra, Bailey, Olivia, and Julia, who all became the light of her and “Dziadziu”’s lives. She is also survived by her brother Richard Baginski and his wife Mary of Naples, Florida, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews.
She loved her grandchildren and showered them with attention all their lives, and spent endless hours cooking, doing art, and gave them her best always. The people she touched were legion, spanning almost ten decades, and many states. Her life was defined by her many passions, which included gardening, painting, cooking, and later any football game Tom Brady was playing in.
She was a member of the Cape Fear and Landfall Garden Clubs, and president of the Lighthouse Point Garden Club. She also loved to read and was a member of the Landfall book club.
She loved her pets, Shotzie, her beloved miniature schnauzer, and more recently Brady, her kitten.
Viewing hours will be held on Sunday, January 23, from 1 PM to 3 PM at Andrews Mortuary – Valley Chapel, 4108 S. College Road, Wilmington, 28412. Please sign the online Guestbook at www.andrewsmortuary.com
