Helen L. (Markiewicz) McPhie, 90, a native and longtime Nashua resident, passed away Friday morning, July 27, 2018 at the Newton Wellesley Center in Wellesley, MA, after a period of declining health. Helen was the widow of Donald McCleod McPhie.
Mrs. McPhie was born in Nashua on November 2, 1927, a daughter of the late Ludwik P. and Helen A. (Stuczynski) Markiewicz. Educated in local schools, Helen graduated with honors from Nashua High School Class of 1945.
After her graduation she became employed with Improved Machinery, Inc. where she excelled in the position of purchasing agent and playing a management role early on before women at IMPCO had the opportunities they have today to move ahead. She ordered various materials from all over the world to support the paper machinery field.
Helen was an active communicant of St. Stanislaus Church and was a member and Past President of the St. Stanislaus Ladies Guild. After being a full-time mother, she went back to work managing the accounts of St. Stanislaus Church including renting out the various halls and scheduling many grand events.
One of her talents was personal poetry, where she created personal poems for her friends and colleagues. She enjoyed translating Polish and Lithuanian letters from fellow prisoner families still living behind the Iron Curtain at the time. Helen had a close nit group of friends that stayed together since childhood. Most of all, she was a great Mother. Never giving up, never backing down, and not allowing anyone to feel sorry for themselves.
In addition to her parents, Helen was predeceased by her husband Donald, who passed away on December 28, 2010. They met at IMPCO and where married on May 20, 1961, sharing nearly 50 years together. She was also predeceased by a brother, Paul Markiewicz; sister, Lillian Doyle; and a nephew, Edward Doyle.
Members of her family include her daughter, Donna McPhie and her husband Michael Fitzgerald of Waltham, MA; her son, Scott McPhie and his wife Beth McCarthy of Nashua; her granddaughter, Heather Louise Marie McPhie; and two nieces, Cynthia Doyle and Cathy Markiewicz Bisset.
Calling hours will be held at the FARWELL FUNERAL HOME, 18 Lock Street, Nashua on Thursday, August 2nd from 4 to 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. Christopher Church, 62 Manchester Street, Nashua on Friday morning at 10 o’clock. Interment will follow in St. Stanislaus Cemetery. Friends are invited to attend. Donations may be made in her memory to the Nashua Historical Society, 5 Abbott Street, Nashua, NH 03064. Arrangements are in the care of the FARWELL FUNERAL SERVICE. (603) 882-0591. www.farwellfuneralservice.com
