Helen A. Tomak

Helen Antoinette Tomak, 93, of Huntington Woods, Michigan died on June 26, 2017 at 7:05 p.m. at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. Helen was born in Detroit on February 12, 1924 to Caroline and Anthony Slabuka. She lived her early childhood in Hamtramck mostly in the care of her maternal grandmother who owned a combination rooming house and grocery store on Elmwood Street. She liked to remember her little dog Bubby who was her constant companion and she would tell of often being left to her own devices as a little girl since her grandmother was busy running the store. When she was seven she moved with her mother and new husband John Kreciesz to a farm near Smiths Creek; and, from that time she told stories of how she and her mother picked pickles in the hot sun and hauled them to the pickle factory to sell. As a teenager she had a job at Kresge's in Port Huron where her pretty face and bright personality caught the attention of store executives who wanted to send her to New York to learn the art of selling cosmetics; but, her mother wouldn't hear of such an ambitious plan for her seventeen-year-old daughter and so she didn't go. Her spirit of adventure was not dampened though as evident by her enrollment in flying school. She actually flew an open cockpit plane with her flight instructor and, as she told it, she was learning how to land when her mother found out and put an end to her flying lessons. As a young woman Helen worked as a secretary at the Fort Wayne Army Post in Detroit. In 1945 she married Stanley Tomak and they had two children, Bob who was born in 1947 and Joanne in 1949. In 1954 the family moved from Columbus Township to Standish, Michigan where they built the Standish Motel and ran it as a successful business enterprise for the next thirty years. Stanley died in 1991. Helen's life was one of emotion and boundless love. She loved people of all shapes, sizes and dispositions. She had many friends including friends in high places yet she wouldn't hesitate to stop and listen to a down and out pan-handler on the street tell her his life story. She was a natural born listener and caregiver. Helen took especially great pleasure from the company of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and, she was "Aunty Helen" to many, many relatives and non-relatives alike. She is survived by her son and daughter Robert Tomak and Joanne Naiman, her sisters Arlene Johnson and Michele Schroeder and by her grandchildren Kelly Spencer, Robert Naiman and Leslie Naiman, Alison Duffy and Paige Tomak as well as great grandchildren Paxton and Jack Spencer, Nicole Naiman and Jordan Naiman. There will be a viewing and gathering of family and friends on Friday, July 7, 2017 from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm at the Wm. Sullivan and Son Funeral Home, 705 W 11 Mile Road (4 blocks E of Woodward), Royal Oak, MI 48067. Share your memories at www.sullivanfuneraldirectors.com.

Helen A. Tomak

February 12, 1924 - June 26, 2017