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Helen Christensen Gremli, mother of Trish Crawson of Hampton Bays, died on May 22. She was 89.
She was born on September 21, 1923, in Delta, Utah, and raised on a ranch, Her family said she “loved the bay and the ocean, but she was a true cowgirl first.” Ms. Gremli moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1943, and became a “weather lady” for the Phoenix Airport, where she met her husband, Victor Charles Gremli, a corporal in the U.S. Air Force, who predeceased her. They lived in Utah, then moved to Long Island, where her husband had originally resided. Every summer was spent living in a small shack on a tiny island in the bay, only accessible by boat, where mostly family resided in 14 other shacks. With no electricity on the island, Ms. Gremli used a treadle sewing machine to make clothes, and heated irons on the stove for ironing. Her survivors said she made the best clam chowder, using clams she dug herself, and used island blackberries for her delicious blackberry pancakes. She always had plenty of “wild west” stories to share for nighttime entertainment, those close to her said.
Ms. Gremli is remembered by survivors as “a classy, smiling, sweet and intelligent person loved by all she met.”
In New York, she is survived by children, Darlene Helen Gremli, Patricia C. Crawson and husband Jack, and Dr. Victor C. Gremli Jr.; four grandchildren, Jennifer Lopiccolo and husband Michael, Michele Brodtman and husband Joseph, James Abbate and wife Shauna, and Justin Abbate; and four great-grandchildren, Michael Lopiccolo, Thomasina Lopiccolo, Marley Brodtman and Eryn Brodtman. In Utah, she is survived by a brother, Scott Christensen and wife Eleanor; a sister, Carole Christensen; and two sisters-in-law, Barbara Christensen and Mary Christensen. She was predeceased by three siblings, Joyce Christensen Pratt, Derral Christensen and Cleo Christensen.
on Jun 4, 2013