BLOMMENDAHL, Helen

Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, AZ Friday, February 11, 2011 Helen Blommendahl, 69, formerly of Flagstaff, died Jan. 9, 2011, in Buffalo, N.Y. She was born Helen Theodore Sarikas on March 14, 1941, in Buffalo, N.Y., to Theodore and Venitia Sarikas. She grew up in Buffalo, attending Bennett High School and graduating in 1959. In 1973, she moved from Buffalo with her late husband, Bill York (who died in 1987), to the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, where she worked in the accounting departments of Valley Park Motors as office manager and Vista Ford in accounting until 1991. They had a palomino mare named "Goldie" that was ridden in the Rose Parade and shown quite a lot. She was married to Phil Blommendahl 22 years ago. They moved to Flagstaff in October 1991, where they helped establish the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church. In Flagstaff, she worked in accounting from 1992-2010 at Jim Babbitt Ford in Flagstaff. Her commitment to her faith, her husband, and her church and friends were constant throughout her time here. In September 2010, the Blommendahls moved to Buffalo. Mrs. Blommendahl loved and collected teddy bears, loved her pets and train travel on Amtrak. Mrs. Blommendahl is survived by her husband, Phil Blommendahl; sisters Katherine Tally of Peoria and Phyllis Tripi of Cheektowaga N.Y.; four nephews; one niece; and 11 grandnieces and grandnephews. She was preceded in death by her mother, Venetia, in 1982; and her father, Theodore, in 1994. She was placed in a crypt in an indoor mausoleum at Elmlawn Cemetery in Tonowanda, N.Y. Memorial services will be Sunday at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church at 319 S. San Francisco St. after Divine Liturgy. Church services start at 9:30 a.m. The family suggests memorial donations be made to Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church, P.O. Box 2164, Flagstaff AZ, 86003.