Helen L (Koval) Molnar

Helen Louise Molnar died May 14 at the Hospice of the Western Reserve, Medina, Ohio.  Born in 1917 to Mary and Joseph Koval, she survived two major pandemics and lived through two world wars.  Raised in Niles on McKees Lane, she lost her dad as a young child. With the help of older brother Michael who got a job in the nearby steel mill, the family, which also included her sisters Mary and Katherine, got by with the help of many generous people.  They raised animals on their property, grew their own vegetables, and wore a lot of hand-me-downs.  They didn’t have electricity or indoor plumbing either!

In the 30s when ballroom dancing was a favorite activity of young, single people,  Helen met Louis Molnar at a Hungarian dance, and love blossomed.  They married in 1941, before Louis joined the war effort in the army.  After the war, they settled on Youngstown’s west side , where they lived their whole lives together.  When Donna was born, Helen was a homemaker by day and a bingo player in the evenings.   She made many new friends at her favorite bingo spots - Our Lady of Hungary, St. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox, St. Brendan, and Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox churches.  Louis died in 1996, and Helen continued to live in the house on Hazelwood, enjoying her friends and bingo until she was 104.   She was also predeceased by her parents, sisters and brother,  all their spouses and many close friends.  

In 2021 she moved to The Landing of Stow Assisted Living to be closer to family.  Helen leaves her daughter, Donna (Ken) Janoso; two grandchildren, Nathan (Megan) Janoso and Alyssa (Jonathan) Hendrix; four great-grandchildren, Rachel, Camilla, Tyler and Ian; and special friends, Karen Chuey and Sonya Netotian.  

Calling hours will be Saturday, May 20, from 10 AM to 11 AM at St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church on Covington Street.  The funeral will be private.

Should you wish to memorialize Helen, in lieu of flowers or other traditional tributes, please take the time to help an elderly widow or widower by offering a ride to a doctor’s appointment, church, or bingo, taking them out socially for a meal, making a repair in their home, or doing the yard work.  Helen will  be smiling down.

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