Centenarian Helen Castelan loved to laugh and make others laugh.
She also lived by a deep-rooted faith that led her and her husband, George Castelan, to build a chapel that was open to the public in the yard of their north-side home in 1981.
Helen Castelan had a saying that she lived by displayed in her dining room: “Laughter is God’s hand upon a troubled world.”
So, it was only fitting that Castelan reminded her niece, Cecilia Garcia, of the late Hollywood star and comedian Lucille Ball.
“She loved to sing over the phone and tell jokes,” recalled Garcia. She also loved to talk. One day “she got on the train to say goodbye to a relative and the train started moving. When she realized it, she started yelling ‘Let me off! Let me off!’”
The train did stop and she was let off, but the episode was well remembered by passengers and employees, said Garcia of the incident at Tucson’s downtown depot in the early 1960s. Another train coming from Lordsburg, New Mexico, had to be detained because of some “dizzy dame”, recalled Helen’s son, Dave Castelan, who heard stories about the incident.
“She was the most giving and beautiful person who kept this family in stitches and intact. God love her,” said Garcia of Castelan.
Castelan died Dec. 19, 2016, after a heart attack at her north-side home. She was pronounced dead at Banner-University Medical Center Tucson, said Dave Castelan.
A tribute celebrating Castelan’s life was held Tuesday at Sacred Heart Church followed by interment at Holy Hope Cemetery & Mausoleum.
“My mom found joy in everything, even when she was having pain. I would take pictures of flowers, rainbows, clouds and we would enjoy them,” said her daughter, Darlene Sprigg.
Helen Castelan was born Helen Lopez May 20, 1916, on a ranch in what is now known as Vail. Her parents worked the ranch, and Helen enjoyed riding horses as a young girl. Helen completed eighth grade in a small schoolhouse before her family moved to Tucson when she was 13. She attended Tucson High School for one year, and then enrolled in beauty school graduating as a beauty operator, said her grandson Jason Cuneo. She worked at a shop downtown.
It was downtown when she and George Castelan, who was a window display designer for department stores, set eyes on each other and fell in love. They married in 1941 at Santa Cruz Catholic Church.
They bought an adobe house for $2,100 that same year and raised six children in that home. Helen also opened her home to grandchildren, nieces and nephews — caring for them after school while their parents worked. Her home was a day care, of sorts, and mouthwatering aromas floated from her kitchen when meals were being prepared.
Much of Helen’s life was dedicated to her faith and love of family. “She prayed rosaries for everyone’s problems,” said Dave Castelan. “Even when the Wildcats were playing basketball or football, she would pray rosaries. She would tell us: ‘Don’t give up on them. I’m praying,’” recalled her son with a laugh.
Helen supported her late husband, George, in his religious work, too. He was ordained a permanent deacon in May 1976, and his role required him to act as a father to many more than their own children, said Helen in a 1982 Arizona Daily Star interview.
In October 1981, with the help of others, George built La Nuestra Capilla (Our Chapel) in his yard and it was open to the public for worship and celebrations. Helen kept the chapel, which since has closed, clean and took part in novenas, prayer recitals and other services.
Also in the mid-1980s, the couple traveled to Rome and attended a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II.
Helen also traveled with her grandson Cuneo to Yugoslavia in 1989. He was 17 and Helen was 72. The two went on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje — a small village in Herzegovina, near Croatia — where the Virgin Mary is said to have first appeared in 1981 to give messages about faith.
“Nana felt a profound sense of peace visiting the site of the apparitions,” recalled Cuneo of Cross Mountain. “She felt that her faith gave her strength.”
