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Paula Ann Helsel

Obituaries | The Tube City Almanac | February 18, 2026

It is with profound sadness that Paula passed away on February 17, 2026, 6 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She chose to release her spirit with her daughter by her side, on the Lunar New Year, symbolizing a fresh start for her new state of being. A devoted and courageous single mother, Paula was dearly loved by her daughter Lisa Bennington (Brad Korinski) and her granddaughter Emma. She enjoyed gardening and picking mulberries with Emma. Emma worked alongside her grandmother attempting to fulfill Paula’s dream of growing a corn field and a blueberry patch in our city backyard (it did not work). We all enjoyed fireworks on her balcony for the 4th of July. She delighted in trying new recipes with ratatouille being her best. A consumer of all things “witchy,” she was also an intuitive tarot card reader.

Paula loved the theatre, costume design and sewing. Some of her happiest memories were spent in the early 1990s directing high school musicals at Central Catholic. Paula enjoyed her childhood in Penn Hills walking to buy penny candy with her two best friends. She was a 1969 graduate of the Presbyterian University Hospital School of Nursing, and proud alumna of PUHNA, and later became a Nurse Anesthetist. She began her career at St. Francis Hospital, often bringing Lisa to stay with her in the ‘on-call’ room overnight as a working mom. She was also employed at the Oakland VA for many years. Paula was a fierce advocate for her patients and cherished being a caregiver. She completed her nursing career at Cape Cod Hospital, in Hyannis, where she always wanted to live. At every hospital she made life-long friends. She will be deeply missed. A celebration of her life will be held in the Spring. Arrangements by the A.J. Bekavac Funeral Home, 555 5th. St., Clairton, PA 15025, (412-233-5700) www.bekavacfuneralhome.com

Originally published February 18, 2026.

Other deaths:
"Mary M. Zaken" ||