Helen Powers, of West Babylon, dies at 85

Holding a cup of tea and usually playing to a small audience of family, Helen Powers relished telling stories of her childhood in New York City.

"She adored New York," said Laura Mann, Powers' daughter and a librarian at Newsday. "She'd always say it was the best place in the world and who would want to live anywhere else."

One of the West Babylon woman's most memorable stories was when she was about 18, driving with friends in Manhattan near the East River. "They got a flat tire," Mann said, "and up pulls a limo. A little guy pops out and asks if they need any help. It was the mayor of New York, Fiorello LaGuardia."

As Powers' story goes, LaGuardia and his entourage helped the teens repair the flat, and then both parties went their separate ways.

Powers, who was 85 when she died Tuesday of heart disease at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, also was fiercely proud of her Irish heritage. One of five children of Irish immigrants, her Yorkville neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side was predominately Irish.

A self-described tomboy, she and friends played in Central Park, roamed the streets and sold apples on corners to help their families make ends meet, said Mann, 51, of Little Neck, Queens.

Before moving to West Babylon in 1982, Powers lived mostly in Jamaica, raising six children with her husband, James.

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Mann remembers their home being a center of activity. "My mom always liked to be surrounded by people. She was very social."

Powers often met with neighbors for tea and shared stories or opinions of newsworthy events, family said. "She was a news junkie," Mann said. "We had three different newspapers in the house and the news was always on TV."

While raising her family, Powers worked off and on for the New York Telephone Co. and then NYNEX in Manhattan. One of her assignments as a special services manager was supervising telephone installations for the 1980 Democratic National Convention, where she heard Sen. Edward Kennedy's famous speech live at Madison Square Garden.

"She was so excited to hear that speech," Mann said. "She was intensely interested in politics, so it was a huge memory for her."Jennifer Powers, 39, a Babylon business consultant, said she'll remember her grandmother more for her big heart.

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Powers said her "Gram" often would call a grandchild to run a special chore, usually driving to the grocer because the longtime city dweller had never learned to drive a car. Upon the task's completion, Gram would slip the grandchild $20 or maybe $40, Powers said. "She'd say, 'Now don't tell anyone else.' It would make you feel special," Powers said.

The longtime New York Mets fan and animal lover also is survived by her husband of 63 years; a sister, Patsy Boody of West Islip; a brother, Joe Keenan of San Carlos, Calif.; sons James Powers Jr. of Queens, Robert Powers of West Babylon, Thomas Powers of West Babylon and William Powers of Westbury; a daughter, Deborah Gonyou of North Babylon; and 11 grandchildren.

Visitation is Thursday at the Claude R. Boyd/Spencer Funeral Home in Babylon. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church in West Babylon, followed by burial at Calverton National Cemetery.