Helen Louise Colaw peacefully passed away on 3 February 2026 at the Woodlands ~ Springhill Community Home in Erie PA, where she has been a resident for the past several years.

Helen was born 26 March 1925 in Wilkinsburg, PA, the daughter of Hannah Tomer Bowers and George Milroy Lehr Sr. After graduating from the Business Training College in Pittsburgh, she worked as a personnel clerk and Administrative Secretary for the Mesta Machine Company prior to enlisting in the US Army (WAC) in 1944. After her basic training in Iowa, she completed a 12-week course for Surgical Technicians at Wakeman General Hospital at Camp Atterbury, IN. She was then assigned to Lovell General Hospital at Ft Devens, MA where she served as a secretary for a ward doctor, specializing in surgical stenography. She earned a promotion to Staff Sgt, supported by her Sgt Major who hoped she would join his office staff as Chief Clerk. However, by this time she had met David Colaw, a handsome young cadet at West Point Military Academy, and in July of 1946, they were married upon his graduation from West Point. Helen was honorably separated from service in August of 1946 at Ft Dix, NJ as was required at that time, and Helen and David shared over 65 years together before David’s death in 2011.

Helen spent over 27 years as an officer’s wife, filling the many roles of a military spouse with grace and honor. She supported her husband and her three daughters through assignments domestic and abroad, and showed courage and strength of character when facing the fears of having a husband in war zones during the Korea and Viet Nam conflicts. The many moves of a military family can be unsettling, but Helen made sure every new home felt like 'home' no matter how far away.

Upon David’s retirement from the Army, they moved to a family farm in Guys Mills, PA where they pursued their shared interest in flowers and vegetable gardens; tended their apple orchards; raised a variety of farm animals; nurtured their children and grandchildren's interests in horses and the benefits of country living; and traveled often to visit with family and friends who were spread across the country. Together they encouraged each of their daughters to follow their own chosen paths in life. When their eldest went into teaching, they visited her classrooms where Helen taught the children to spin and dye wool, make butter, make paper and David would enlighten the children with Civil War heirlooms and stories. When their second daughter received her commission to the US Army upon her graduation from JMU, they supported her service across the country and abroad, so proud to see the legacy of military service continued through each generation since the Revolutionary War. And when their youngest followed in her grandmother's footsteps, and her gentle spirit and compassion as a CCU nurse was felt by all, again there was a sense of continuity. Through all life's ups and downs, Helen quietly continued to encourage her girls.

Helen had a gracious and generous spirit. Her personal interests were quite varied ~ sewing, quilting, needlepoint, spinning her own wool for knitting and weaving, gardening, paper making ~ and she made the best cakes and cookies in town!! Friends and family continue to enjoy the delights of her handcrafted gifting!

Helen was preceded in death by her youngest daughter, Virginia Schmidt and by her husband, David. She will be greatly missed by those who survive her: Sandy Colaw of Erie, PA and Barbara Sue and Alan Yurkshat of Manassas, VA; Tara Yurkshat of New Orleans, LA; Jason and Debi Yurkshat of Fernandina Beach, FL; Joshua and Andrea Schmidt of Charlotte, NC; Corrie and Josh Poterjoy of Bainbridge PA; and by her great-grandchildren Cody Schmidt, Chase Yurkshat, and Norah and Poppy Poterjoy. She will also be missed by many others who will recall her sweet nature and kindness.

No funeral or memorial service is planned at this time. All arrangements were handled by the Dusckas-Martin Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 4216 Sterrettania Rd. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that expressions of sympathy be made in the form of a donation to one of the following organizations that were most important to Helen:

Family Hospice

Part of UPMC Home Healthcare

310 French Street, Suite 102

Erie, PA 16507

or

Military Women's Memorial

200 N Glebe Road, Suite 400

Arlington, VA 23203