Obituaries

It is with heavy hearts, and great sadness, that the family of Helene Aranguren announce her passing following an arduous battle with dementia. Helene is now in the Kingdom of Heaven with her late husband and love of her life Joe, loved ones who have previously passed, and most importantly, with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

She is survived by her children; Daniel Aranguren (Lillian Jackson Aranguren, Jackson Aranguren), Felicia Aranguren Hassett (Eric, Sophie, Kieran Hassett), and John Aranguren (Melody, Joey, Maxx Aranguren), sister Marie-Jeanne Pecastaings and brother Joe Castanchoa. Helene is predeceased by Joseph Aranguren (husband), Claudine Berhouet (sister), Ignace Castanchoa (brother), Pierre Castanchoa (father), Marceline Castanchoa (mother).

Helene was born and raised in Jatxou, France and immigrated to the US as a teenager without yet speaking English. She was a devout Catholic and lived her life according to her faith in God. Helene’s work ethic was second to none as anyone who knew her could easily attest. She took pride in running a solid household and raising three children & five grandchildren who absolutely adored her.

Helene loved biking, knitting and embroidery, but her two stand out hobbies included home cooking, and gardening. Her culinary training/experiences originated from her European Basque background, was 100% from scratch, and she could have easily made Gordon Ramsey smile. After weeks of logistical preparations, Helene would host holiday feasts with many guests filling her household, and all leaving with smiles, and notches loosened on their belts.

Helene took pride in her yard and vegetable garden. Every start of her day, often in the dark, Helene would pick up leaves by hand. Like clockwork, this would end up as a morning social hour with surrounding neighbors on their morning walks, all catching up on the Mayfield Drive gossip column. Every season, Helene would plant her vegetable garden. With help from Helene’s oldest child Daniel, who inherited the green thumb, every harvest would yield a delicious and formidable bounty. When you combined Helene’s cooking skills and her fresh garden vegetables on hand, her meals were unbelievably delicious. After Helene’s youngest child became of age and somewhat independent, Helene began working for Orchard Supply Hardware, a short distance from her home. Helene’s dependability and work ethic again shined. Helene devoted roughly twenty years of service and ultimately settled into, and mastered, the paint department.

Helene gave back to the community by volunteering at Holy Spirit Church for more than 40 years, and donated her time bi-weekly to feeding unhoused community members with local support programs. Helene treated everyone with dignity and respect regardless of one’s socioeconomic background. She had a heart of gold. She was kind, compassionate, and a pure soul. Helene will be greatly missed.

The Aranguren family would like to acknowledge the wonderful & loving care that mom received from Tania, Mafi & Selu Ofamooni and the outstanding staff at Fremont Hills Memory Care including Gurbax (GG), Monique, Harwinder, Balvinder, Sandra, Nilam, Sarb, Noel, Apple, Jasper, Jessica, Lilliana, Mandeep, Molly, Bernadette, Karen, Ada, Lupe & Martha. A big shout-out to the Mayfield (Glenmoor) neighbors for keeping mom cherished & safe including Richelle, Baltita & Michael among others.