Helen A. Ksypka

Helen A. Ksypka, born in Boston, Eliot, ME resident passed away May 12, 2024 in York, ME.  Helen packed a lot of living into her 72 years.  As a kid, Helen loved to make people laugh, and she had a hug for everybody.

At nine years old, her soprano voice impressed the Mayor of Boston and she was invited to sing “O Holy Night” on the Boston Common where stars like Lawrence Welk’s, Lennon Sisters also performed.

As an adult, Helen enjoyed multiple careers in the arts and beyond.  She fronted bands, sang at CBGB in New York and worked as a print model in the national ads and magazines.

Helen was a member of the Screen Actors Guild for over forty years, landing TV roles in “Spenser for Hire,” “St. Elsewhere,” and “Cheers.”  Her many film credits included “Mr. North,” and the Emmy-nominated “Roland Hayes: Ministry of Music.”

Helen also worked as an organizational consultant and was listed in the 2005 Who’s Who in America.

As a children’s author, she penned two rhyming books, “A Chef for the Queen,” and “Teeny Tiny Mouse.”  And her prize-winning humorous poetry has graced many anthologies for both children and adults.

With a flair for comedy, Helen wrote for the syndicated American Comedy Network and received a video award from the Nickelodeon Channel.

As a radio DJ, some of Helen’s fondest moments were spent at WSCA in Portsmouth, NH.  As her persona, “eXtreme helen,” she hosted a punk music and comedy show, where she unleashed her outrageous self, performing over a dozen comedy characters she created.

One of her characters, the funny Russian gal, Malenka, morphed into a one-woman interactive show, “Humans Need Hugs.”  Helen believed the world was short on laughter and hugs and wanted to help people connect with each other on a deeper level, having a great time doing it.

The most important thing to Helen was to make people feel comfortable enough to be themselves.  Her animated personality and sense of humor gave adults permission to let their hair down, have fun and be like a kid again.  She’d want, more than anything, to know that people are laughing every day.

Helen’s immediate family is deceased and for the past twenty years, she deeply missed her late husband, Peter.

Helen and Peter shared a love of the Maine ocean and that is where Helen’s ashes will be poured.  She’ll join Peter, with their souls bobbing like floats on the waves of the endless sea.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Johnson Funeral Home, North Berwick, ME.  Condolences and memories and pictures may be shared on her page at www.JohnsonFuneralHomeME.com

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