Helen Amabile

Helen Amabile, 92, passed away Monday, November 25, 2024 in Media, PA.  She was the loving wife of the late Nando A. Amabile for more than 60 years. Born Helen Mary Lodahl on December 4, 1931,  she was the second of four children, and only daughter, of Nels and Emelia. She grew up in Medicine Lake, Montana where her parents first ran a rooming house in town, and eventually farmed large swaths of wheat throughout Sheridan County.

Smart and eager to leave smalltown life behind, after graduating from Medicine Lake High School Helen attended Montana State University in Bozeman, followed by Augsburg College in Minneapolis, where she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in English. Helen's first job out of college was as a teacher at the Wanso School, a one-room schoolhouse in north-eastern Montana, and she also later taught high school in Blackduck Minnesota. Eventually, she obtained a Master's Degree in Library Science, and started her library career at the US Department of Defense Dependents' School in Stuttgart, Germany. She finally retired in the 1990s as the deputy Chief of Library Programs for the United States Information Agency (USIA). The USIA was at that time a part of the State Department, and managed, among other things, all American libraries associated with US Embassies. During her tenure at USIA Helen was also instrumental in establishing the Library Fellows program, a Fulbright program funded by USIA and administered by the American Library Association, facilitating short-term assignments for librarians worldwide.

While in Stuttgart, she met and married Nando, and they returned to the US to raise their three children in the Washington, DC metropolitan area while they both pursued careers within the federal government. They enjoyed a happy retirement for many years in Frederick, MD, eventually settling in Delaware County, PA to be closer to their children. Though she traveled abroad frequently to Europe, and parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, the Great Plains of the northwestern US forever loomed large in Helen's makeup and her heart. She never quite felt comfortable in Pennsylvania (too many trees!), but she made many friends here in her final years, and loved the opportunity it provided to see her children more often.

Helen is survived by her children, Anthony Amabile, Margaret Amabile (both of New York City), and Amy Amabile (of Elkins Park, PA), her daughters-in-law Grace Amabile and Beth Alderfer, and grandchildren Erica and Nicole Amabile. We miss her fiercely.

Arrangements are by the Huff & Lakjer Funeral Home, Lansdale, PA. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Puentes de Salud of Philadelphia (https://www.puentesdesalud.org/).