Helen Dostal

Helen Dostal passed away on June 29, 2020 in Kalispell.

She was born on Aug. 9, 1916 on a small farm outside of Anita, Pennsylvania to Homer and Bertha (Marshall) Sadler, joining her older brother and sister. Helen graduated in 1933 and married Paul Raybuck the next year. She worked right alongside Dad out in the fields. There are many pictures of her up on the horse-drawn hay wagon with a pitchfork in her hands. And there was the occasional scream for Dad out in the field when a big black snake would be crawling up the outside of the screen door. She cooked for the thrashers, sewed all our outfits during grade school years (remember those tent dresses) and made our baby doll and Barbie clothes. She taught me the art of canning everything that wasn’t nailed down, how to use that scary pressure cooker and also how to make really good piecrust. She and Dad farmed the property out in Grange where they raised us four kids until they sold the farm in 1968 and we moved up on the hill into our new house that she drew the blueprints for.

Mom worked as the cafeteria manager at Mapleview School for several years until she dropped that frozen 25-pound turkey on her big toe. She enjoyed working with those girls there and they became good friends. She also worked at the Punxsutawney Post Office for years as the first female letter carrier and was nicknamed “Mrs. Zip.”

Dad was killed in the coal mines in 1970 and Mom stayed on at the house until 1985 when she moved to Treasure Lake and met and then married Vlada “Dusty” Dostal, who died in 2009 from colon cancer. They had a lot of good years between the Lake and over in Emporium, and they made many friends.

Helen enjoyed baking and everybody especially loved her pies, from key lime to raisin and everything in between. She had always enjoyed bowling and shooting pool in both the leagues. She was a member of St. John’s Reformed Church, St. John’s Ladies Aid, Treasure Lake Church, Ladies of the Lake, the Punxsutawney Loyal Order of the Moose, BPOE, and had held all the Offices in the local AARP (several times). Mom enjoyed being around people--her smile was the tell-tale sign. And she NEVER went to town without her earrings and lipstick on.

After Dusty passed, Helen moved to DuBois Village Assisted Living for nine years and then we made the decision to make the big move to Montana to be nearer to Gloria. After a few months of living on the ranch, the Alzheimer’s was progressing so she needed to be admitted to a Memory Care facility for her safety. Renaissance Senior Care took wonderful care of her until she passed. She always called herself “a tough old bird” and she was…right to the end.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents; both husbands: Paul (1970) and Dusty (2009); both sons: Richard (2007) and Raymond (2014); her brother (Ralph); sister-in-law (Alta); her sister (Edna, also 103); brother-in-law (Ernie Little); her cousins, aunts and uncles, and a great-granddaughter.

She is survived by her daughters: Gloria (Jerry) Graves, Kalispell;, and Gail (Rick) Homer of DuBois, Pennsylvania; her daughters-in-law: Shirley of Mayport, Pennsylvania and Deb of Orlando, Florida; her niece Cheryl Sadler of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; 11 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; and 13 great-great grandchildren.

Buffalo Hill Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for the family. A Memorial Service will be held at St. John’s at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. John’s Reformed Church, 2765 St. John Road, Punxsutawney, PA 15767.