Helen C. Vella; Talented Craftswoman

Helen Caroline Vella, a longtime Pacific Palisades resident, passed away peacefully on October 21, following a long illness. She was 74. The second-oldest child of Peter and Evelyn Ilnicki, Helen was born on May 25, 1931 in Windsor, Ontario. She met her future husband, Joseph, at a sewing class he was teaching. They married on November 12, 1955 in Canada and moved to California following a vacation out west. They bought a house in the Palisades in the Alphabet streets, where they lived for 19 years. Their daughter Caroline was born in 1959 and attended local schools where Helen participated in supporting Girl Scouts and other activities. Following a divorce in 1977, Helen moved to Santa Monica where she remained active in the St. Monica’s church boutique. She was known for her success at selling raffle tickets at the annual St. Monica’s Oktoberfest fundraiser. A longtime employee of Hughes Aircraft, Helen earned her high school diploma through a program offered by the company. She assembled, modified and did rework for experimental and production purposed in the Hughes El Segundo development laboratories. She also worked at the Hughes Malibu Research Lab, where she was an electrical and mechanical prototype assembler in the NASA Experimental Lab. She retired from Hughes in 1994. Helen enjoyed selling Tupperware, Jafra Cosmetics and Herbalife for many years and continued to do so into her retirement years. At the birth of her granddaughter, Amanda Mae Fausett, Helen devoted herself to spending time with her. They enjoyed tea parties for two, baking cookies and shopping. Helen also enjoyed traveling to many parts of the world and the United States. Her talents in needlepoint, crocheting, and crafts were evident to her family and friends. She is survived by her loving daughter, Caroline Fausett (husband Richard); granddaughter Amanda Mae Fausett; and sisters Edna Ilnicki, Mary Ann Healy, Frances Atkinson, Jean Rybka and Janet Phillips. Services are scheduled for Saturday, November 5 at 1 p.m. at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. A reception will follow at Caroline’s home in Reseda.