Helen M. Salmon

WESTBOROUGH, MA – Helen M. Salmon, 97, of The Willows at Westborough, formerly of Northborough and Sutton, MA, died peacefully Sunday, February 8, 2015 with family at her side. Born February 3, 1918 in Worcester, MA to the late Henry and Harriet (Orton) Goulden, she was predeceased by her four brothers Theodore, Lyman, Paul and Lawrence, and three sisters Eleanor Anderson, Marjorie Barnes and Gertrude Walsh.

Helen graduated from South High School in Worcester and attended Worcester City Hospital School of Nursing, later becoming an LPN after starting her family. In 1942 she married the love of her life, Daniel J. Salmon, Sr., who died in 1977. She was also predeceased by her second husband, Edgar Breault.
Together with her husband Dan, they founded what became SALMON Health & Retirement in 1952 at Northborough Nursing Home. Helen was proud to watch the family business grow and was honored to enjoy more than a decade of independence living at The Willows at Westborough, where she loved the staff in her characteristic way: "just like family."
Helen and Dan were also owners of Pine Ridge Country Club in Upton, MA. She was an avid golfer, and thrilled to get a hole-in-one at age 72. Golfing well into her 80s, she and her friends played tournaments near and far; she was tickled seeing her successes noted in small print at the back of the sports section. Becoming the “C-class Club Champion” at Pine Ridge in Oxford, MA in her 70s, Helen remained a spirited competitor, relishing any type of contest. She was a card player, game lover, joke teller and world-class hugger, but most fond and adoring of her family.

Helen was a fabulous cook reveling in hosting gatherings, never running out of her warm, homemade cookies and “buns.” She was the faithful host of Monday night family dinners at “Camp” on Lake Singletary in Sutton, where everyone was welcomed with open arms and the food and fun were never-ending. She was continually making new friends… everyone she met became her friend, and she invited them all home for supper. Helen loved travel, going all over the world with family and friends, and spending many winters in Florida.

She was predeceased by her son Timothy Salmon of Newburyport, MA and will be forever loved and dearly missed by her entire extended family, most especially her sons Daniel J. and his wife Dorothy of Sutton, MA, Michael and his wife Barbara of Whitinsville, MA, Robert and his wife Flora of China, Mark of Sutton, MA, her daughter-in-law Christie Salmon and her 14 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

Helen said an enthusiastic “YES!” to life and every opportunity it presented. She maintained an enviable zest, pure joy and true compassion, making her a genuine inspiration to so many people. It is difficult to put the loss of her energy and fine spirit into words.

Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, February 13, at 10:30 A.M. in St. Luke the Evangelist Church, 70 West Main St., Westborough. Burial will follow in Armsby Cemetery, Sutton.

Calling hours at the Rand-Harper-Pickering Westborough Funeral Home, 62 West Main St., Westborough, are Thursday, February 12, from 3 to 7 P.M.


In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 or www.cancer.org.

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