OBITUARY: Helena Mask Steene

RALEIGH – Dr. Helena Mask Steene, 90, of Raleigh, died Tuesday, November 29, 1994. She was born in Washington, D.C. on November 17, 1904, to William Henry and Charlotte Hanby Smith. In 1928 she graduated from George Washington University, with a degree in business administration. From 1928 – 1945 she served as an administrative assistant at the Pentagon. On December 9, 1940, she was married to Lee Joseph Steene, who was a Major in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

In 1947 due to Captain Steene's employment with American Airlines they moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where they lived until 1955. In 1955, they moved to Easton, Connecticut. In 1949, Helena earned her Master's Degree in Education from the University of Bridgeport. She became the director of Reading Services for the school system of Woodbridge, Connecticut, and served in that position until 1976.

In 1976 she retired and moved to Raleigh. She then went on to earn a Doctorate in Adult Education in 1988, at the age of 84. Dr. Steene was a world traveler and a life long proponent of Adult Education. In June 1993 she traveled to China with her family, where she received a special international recognition for her work in adult education, which read, "Dr Stene proved you're never too old to learn."

Funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Friday in the Chapel of Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, St. Mary's Street. Burial will be in Fort Lincoln Cemetery, Washington, D.C., at a later date.

Surviving are two daughters of Raleigh; and three grandchildren.

The family will receive friends on Friday from 12 – 1:30 p.m. at the funeral home.

Amended from the original obituary to remove the names of the living, published in The News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina) December 1, 1994, page 32.

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Helena Mask Steene
North Carolina Deaths
Name Helena Mask Steene
Event Type Death
Event Date 29 Nov 1994
Event Place Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina
Birth Year 1904
Burial Place Brentwood, Md
Cemetery Ft. Lincoln Cemetery
Residence Place Wake, Raleigh, NC
Address 2825 Seclusion Ct Apt-C
Gender Female
Age 90
Marital Status Widowed
Race (Original) W
Occupation Adult Reading Teacher
Birth Date 17 Nov 1904
Birthplace Washington, Dc
Father's Name William Herman Smith
Mother's Name Charlotte Hamby
Additional Relatives X

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Her husband:

Capt. Lee Joseph Steene Memorial, services will take place in the Lebanon, N.J. Methodist church at a time to be announced for Capt. Lee Joseph Steene, senior pilot for American Air Lines and former resident of Easton, who died Aug. 29 in Los Angeles, Calif Capt. Steene, a veteran of World War II, is survived by is wife. Mrs. Helena M. Steene of Easton, and two daughters Mrs. Kathryn Charlotte Leokun of Puerto Rico and Suzanne Lee Steene of Easton.

September 8, 1967
The Bridgeport Post from Bridgeport, Connecticut · Page 63

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record of Lee Joseph Steene and Helena Mask Smith
Name Lee Joseph Steene
Event Type Marriage
Event Date 09 Dec 1940
Event Place District of Columbia, United States
Gender Male
Age 31
Birth Year (Estimated) 1909
Spouse's Name Helena Mask Smith
Spouse's Gender Female
Spouse's Age 35
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated) 1905
Page 184

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Her husbands family:

Halvor Steene
United States Census, 1910
Name Halvor Steene
Event Type Census
Event Date 1910
Event Place Rochester Ward 1, Olmsted, Minnesota, United States
Gender Male
Age 27
Marital Status Married
Race White
Race (Original) White
Relationship to Head of Household Head
Relationship to Head of Household (Original) Head
Birth Year (Estimated) 1883
Birthplace Iowa
Father's Birthplace Norway
Mother's Birthplace Norway
Sheet Letter B
Sheet Number 18
Household
Halvor Steene Head M 27 Iowa
Ruby Steene Wife F 23 Minnesota
Eres Steene Daughter F 3 Minnesota
Lee Steene Son M 1 Minnesota

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Her husbands parents:

record of Halvor J Steene and Ruby Alena Lee
Name Halvor J Steene
Event Type Marriage
Event Date 25 Jul 1906
Event Place Olmsted, Minnesota, United States
Gender Male
Age 23
Birth Year (Estimated) 1883
Spouse's Name Ruby Alena Lee
Spouse's Gender Female
Spouse's Age 19
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated) 1887
Page 64

NOTE: Ruby was the daughter of Erick K "Erek" Lee and Anna K Gilderhus Lee

See also:

http://oiseth.org/getperson.php?
personID=I13692&tree=dodgo

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Helena Smith
United States Census, 1910
Name Helena Smith
Event Type Census
Event Date 1910
Event Place Precinct 6, Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Gender Female
Age 5
Marital Status Single
Race White
Race (Original) White
Relationship to Head of Household Daughter
Relationship to Head of Household (Original) Daughter
Birth Year (Estimated) 1905
Birthplace District of Columbia
Father's Birthplace District of Columbia
Mother's Birthplace Delaware
Sheet Letter A
Sheet Number 10
Household
Wm Smith Head M 29 District of Columbia
Lottie Smith Wife F 24 [sic] Delaware
Helena Smith Daughter F 5 District of Columbia
Catherine Smith Daughter F 3 District of Columbia
Chipman W Chilton Boarder M 24 Virginia
Wm B Douglas Boarder M 70 Connecticut

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Her sister:

Kathryn "Kate" Elizabeth Smith
North Carolina Deaths
Name Kathryn Elizabeth Smith
Event Type Death
Event Date 17 Jun 1986
Event Place Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina
Birth Year 1907
Burial Place Lake Placid, Ny
Cemetery St. Agnes Cemetery
Residence Place Raleigh, Wake, NC
Address 5812 Chelsea Pl.
Gender Female
Age 79
Marital Status Single
Race (Original) W
Occupation Singer
Birth Date 01 May 1907
Birthplace Augusta Co., Va
Father's Name William H. Smith
Mother's Name Charlotte Yarnell Hanby

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*** Many thanks to Alicelth 47131242 for father link and additional info

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