Helen L. "Bubbie" McElhinney

"Bubbie" (Helen McElhinney) was born on July 31, 1928 in Ely, Iowa. She was born to Rudolph and Libbie Lnenicka. She was the forth child of five - Joanne (Petrick-Dinken) (Herm) (the late George Petrick), Irma Drahos (the late Stan), the late Alice Bell (late Ard), and Albert (Shirley) Lnenicka. Bubbie grew up on a farm working hard and having fun with her siblings (riding cows!) until. . . She went to grade school and then high school at McKinley High in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She had to work and go to school, and was only able to go home on the weekends. It was hard work but Bubbie, as to be expected, was up to it and graduated. She then went on to Beauty School and earned her license as a beautician. She worked for a bit until. . . She met James Jilek through Stan Drahos and fell in love. They were married on May 20, 1948. Jim and Helen lived in various places in Bertram and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They had five children - James, Robert, Joyce, Daniel, and Joseph. On June 21, 1959 Jim passed away of a heart attack. Bubbie raised her 5 children by herself, until . . . She met Ralph McElhinney at a dance hall and she fell in love once more. They were married on August 4, 1962. Helen and Ralph then moved their children to Sterling Heights, Michigan where they raised their family. Bubbie loved to make popcorn and apples for a fun Sunday night dinner. The "Bubbie popcorn" continued to be famous the rest of her life as any son or daughter or grand or great grand will attest. Bubbie was busy cooking and cleaning but mostly inspiring and cheering on her family. All the kids went off to college until. . . The kids started to get married. First Bob to Laurel Stewart, then Jim to the late Jill Riddle, next it was Joyce to Joe Bayma, then Dan to Joy Ledman (after Dan died, Joy married Allen), and, finally, Joe to Joyce Bayma. Bubbie continued to lead and amaze her family by going back to school at Oakland University to earn her Bachelor's Degree. Bubbie was an awesome jogger as well, tackling those hills at Oakland! She then worked as a librarian at Troy Public Library and was beloved there as she taught everyone to have that positive attitude of hers! She worked at the library and then moved on to Joe B's dental office as a patient care coordinator well into her late 70's; nothing stopped the Bubs from coming into the office until. . . The grandchildren started coming! Jim and Jill had twins, Jonathan (Carrie) and Jana (Gordy). Bob and Laurel had Benjamin (Taylor) and Mack (Christina). Joe and Joyce had Nicholas (Colleen) and Matthew (Rasa). Dan and Joy had Elisabeth (Alex), Sarah(Robin), James(Ariel), and Anna (Chris). Joe and Joyce had Joseph (Wendy), Ellen (Duncan) and Claire! Wow! That kept Bubbie hopping and she continued working at Joe B's dental office as a patient care coordinator well into her 70's! she cuddled and loved each one in her own special way. So many memories, each of them have of her! Bubbie loved Michigan tailgating beginning with when Dan was playing football, everyone looked forward to her Bloody Mary's and most of all her unbelievable charm! Bubbie's life had sad moments as well. She lost her beloved son Dan. She kept positive though and helped all of us remember the "amaize-ing" man he was. And Bubbie kept up with all of us, well outdid all of us until. . . The grandchildren got married and began having children of their own! Great grandchildren were filling up the endless space in Bubbie's heart! Her great grandchildren are: CeCe, Charlie, Catie Jane, Ellie, Kennedy, Berklee, Christopher, Noah, Corinne, Eloise, Genevieve, Nicholas, Naomi, Daniel, Nathan, Christopher and Henry! And Bubbie celebrated over 55 years of marriage to Ralph until. . . She discovered her breast cancer was back. She fought it with vigor. Bubbie's positive spirit was ever present as was her love and dedication to her family. We cannot begin to sum up this fabulous person who is embedded in each of our hearts. Bubbie will be missed each and every day and we all hope to carry on her inspirational spirit. We love you, Bubbie. Ralph and Helen's inurnment will be held on Monday, May 9th at 10:00 a.m. with Military Honors at Great Lakes National Cemetery, Holly, Michigan. Memorials can be contributed to Helen McElhinney's family for a bell for a chapel in Svinna, Czech Republic. Checks can be made out to Joe Jilek and he will take care of the purchase. Memories maybe shared with her family at www.sullivanfuneraldirectors.com

Helen L. "Bubbie" McElhinney

July 31, 1928 - December 4, 2017