Obituary of Helen Aker

Aker, Helen L. age 91, of Wyckoff, died peacefully in her sleep, at home, on Thursday, December 4, 2014. Helen Louise Wood was born on June 23, 1923, at Baxter Springs, Kansas. After the family moved to Milwaukee, Helen attended the University of Wisconsin, and after transferring to Northwestern University in Evanston, graduated from Northwestern in 1945 with a BA from the School of Speech. While living in Milwaukee, Helen met her future husband of 64 years, Donald Aker, whom she married in September 1946. Helen studied at Northwestern under renowned American drama teacher, entrepreneur and "maker of stars," Alvina Krause, whose students included Patricia Neal and Charlton Heston. In 1945-1946, with Ms. Krause directing, Helen starred in several summer stock theatre productions at the Forest Inn Playhouse in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania, including Uncle Harry, The Importance of Being Earnest, Blithe Spirit, and Angel Street. Helen's co-stars at the Playhouse included Ms. Neal and Mr. Heston. In addition to starring in the productions, Helen designed and sewed the costumes. Helen was a member of Phi Beta sorority and The Honorary Professional Speech and Music Fraternity at Northwestern. Helen was interviewed by the director of the movie Going My Way, starring Bing Crosby, and offered a job at a Hollywood acting laboratory but, with Ms. Krause's advice, thought the stage was a better fit. After living in New York City for several years, Helen and Donald moved to Fair Lawn, then, in 1952, to Hackensack, New Jersey. In 1960, the couple and their five children moved to Wyckoff and to the house in which they lived the rest of their lives. Throughout her life, Helen was an avid music and theatre buff, enjoying operas at The Met, concerts, and plays in New York, a city she loved. For fifty years, she rarely missed a Saturday afternoon Met Opera broadcast. She collected books and records, and, with her friend Pat Lewis, was a member of the Vocal Record Collector's Society in New York. Helen was active in the Wyckoff PTA, serving as its president and managing restoration of the historic Susquehanna Railroad station at 399 Main Street, to which the PTA's Economy Shop was relocated and remains today. Helen is survived by her five children, Elizabeth A. Sheldon of Newton, NJ; Eric M. Aker of Medfield, MA; Gregory R. Aker of Oakland, CA; Bruce W. Aker of Kirkland, WA; and Douglas R. Aker of Chelmsford, MA. Also surviving are her ten grandchildren and her sister, Jean W. Re, of Bristow, Virginia. Helen is predeceased by her husband, Donald C. Aker, in 2010, father Charles E. Wood, in 1958, her mother Grace Bancroft Wood, in 1956, and sister Marion, in 1935. The family will receive friends on Thursday from 5-8 p.m. at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home, www.vpfh.com, 257 Godwin Ave. Wyckoff, NJ. A funeral service will be held at Vander Plaat on Friday at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be at the Redeemer Cemetery, Mahwah. Contributions in memory of Helen can be made to the Metropolitan Opera, www.metopera.org.