Helen Mark

Helen Mark, 100, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 6, 2026, just eleven days after the loss of her husband and life partner, Martin. Helen and Martin met on March 4, 1947. After a short courtship, they were married on June 29 of that same year. Throughout their 78 years of marriage, they were seldom apart. Helen was born in New York on September 7, 1925. She spent her first four years in an orphanage and then was taken into a foster home where she grew up feeling especially loved by her two foster sisters, Lilly (and her husband, Al) and Elsie. When Helen and Martin married, Helen was lovingly welcomed by the entire Mark family, who filled her life with love and acceptance. She was always an integral part of their joys and sorrows. She became a sister to Martin’s sisters and brothers and a daughter to his parents. She was also a greatly loved aunt to her nieces and nephews. Helen was the proud mother of Debbie and Valerie. Being a mom was the role that brought her joy and fulfillment, and she was a wonderful mother to her two daughters throughout their lives. She devoted all her time to anything that was important to her girls. When other moms’ daughters needed care, she and Martin welcomed them into their home, treated them lovingly, and truly made a difference in those girls’ lives. Throughout their lives, Helen and Martin developed many special friendships. These friendships provided them with fun, laughter, poker games and cruises and other happy experiences. Because of their long lives, they sadly had to say goodbye to many of those friends, and yet they still enjoyed their neighbors and the caregivers who enriched their later years. Helen had a great sense of humor and a down-to-earth personality. She spread laughter to all who knew her. She was a practical woman who accepted life’s circumstances with grace. She enjoyed her simple life and was never envious of anyone. She loved deeply and rarely asked anything of anyone, except for their time to be together. She spread laughter to all who knew her. Helen is survived by her beloved daughters and their husbands, Debbie Shabot and Marc, and Valerie Mark and Mike. She is also survived by her devoted brother-in-law, Murray Mark. She will be fondly remembered by her grandchildren, Naomi Shabot Wittlin and Brian Wittlin, Benjy Shabot and Loren Shabot, Sarah Shabot and Todd Doctor, Shelly Heffler, and Robyn Heffler, as well as her five great grandchildren, Caleb Shabot, Hannah Wittlin, Eli Shabot, Nora Shabot, and Jacob Doctor. Her many nieces and nephews have special memories of their Aunt Helen. The family gratefully acknowledges Helen’s devoted caregivers, who enriched the last year of her life with kindness and loving care: Alfred Reed, Sue Boone, Reba Broussard, Margaret Rittenhouse, Kerston Boone, Christina Simmons, and Larry Menifee. The family would also like to extend appreciation to Joni and her staff at Spectrum Hospice for their excellent care throughout the past year. Thank you to Shirley, Trish, Gina, Katherine, Mercedes, Twyla, and Jake. A funeral service will take place on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at 10:00 am in the Sophia and Jack Bender Memorial Chapel at Beth Yeshurun Post Oak Cemetery, 7445 Awty School Lane, Houston, Texas 77055. The service will also be livestreamed at the following link: https://venue.streamspot.com/f8d04b5b. Memorial contributions may be made to Celebration Company, 4131 South Braeswood Boulevard, Houston, Texas, 77025 (www.alexanderjfs.org/donate), Temple B’nai Israel, PO Box 8060, Galveston, Texas, 77553 (www.cbigalveston.org/contribute), or to the charity of your choice.

Helen Mark

September 7, 1925 - March 6, 2026