Helen Aileen Saliba

Helen Aileen Saliba (nee Koch) was born in Los Angeles, January 24, 1933. She grew up in Culver City, and met Ron Saliba, the love of her life, at a high school dance. They wed in 1954, and were married nearly 66 years. Helen passed away from complications due to cancer on September 21, 2020, in Duarte.

Helen loved the warmth of Ron's Lebanese culture. She mastered Lebanese cuisine, from tabbouleh and hummus to stuffed grape leaves, and was a talented and generous baker by nature, gifting her famous apple pie to new neighbors and those in need. She passed on this love of sharing food and hospitality to her four children. A devout Catholic, Helen attended St. Rita's in Sierra Madre; she and Ron drove for Meals on Wheels for over a decade and volunteered at soup kitchens and charitable organizations. They settled at Westminster Gardens in Duarte where they made a lovely new group of friends.

Helen loved family, a good laugh, card games, and was a lifetime Dodger fan. She recently won the Annual Regional Spelling Bee Championship for retirement communities. Helen was indeed a closet intellectual, pulling out vocabulary regularly that no one ever used or understood, and kept her sharp wit to the very end.

Helen is survived by her husband Ronald; son Mark (Karen Gianas); daughters Karen (Stan Rushing) and Therese Saliba (Tom Wright), and Suzanne Saliba Skugstad (Lars Skugstad); eight grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.

Helen filled her last days with love for her family, gratitude for her helpers, and a carefree lightness of heart.