Helen Angelina (Mobilia) Anzalone Anderton

Helen Anderton was known to her family and friends as a quiet woman with a gentle strength that they could always rely on. Despite having endured a great deal of loss in her lifetime, Helen always had a smile on her face and was always ready to listen. Just four days before she would have turned 96, Helen died at her home in Leesburg, Florida, surrounded by her children.

Born February 11, 1923, to Angelo and Rosalia Mobilia in Somerville, MA, Helen Angelina was the youngest of six children. A graduate of Somerville High School, Helen worked in her father's grocery store when young and then did secretarial work.

She enjoyed trips to New York City with her friends. They all loved to dance and going to the theater. Even though the war made life difficult, Helen was determined to enjoy life and she had a smile that lit up the room.

She met Maurice Benjamin Anzalone after World War II ended, and they married in May of 1949. They lived first in Somerville before settling in Medford, raising four children. When Maurice died suddenly at age 44, Helen was left to raise the children on her own.  Her youngest, Laura, was only 8-months old. Faced with daunting challenges, Helen not only raised her children but also cared for her parents.

When she was 13, her daughter Laura wrote a letter to the local newspaper nominating Helen as Mother of the Year for 1978. It had never occurred to Helen that what she did would earn her accolades. She was determined to raise four happy, successful children and she accomplished that goal.

When Laura was in junior high school, Helen went back to school and got a job at a Royal Insurance in Boston, where she worked until she retired.

After "the baby" went off to college, Helen met and married Bob Anderton and they retired to Leesburg FL. Unfortunately Bob became ill soon after, leaving her a widow again. But once again she turned adversity into joy by creating a new life with friends. She enjoyed line dancing, ballroom dance which was a lifelong love, playing cards, shuffleboard and bingo. She enjoyed water aerobics, the singles club and going on cruises or to DisneyWorld with her grandchildren. She also visited her children often and enjoyed vacationing in Cape Cod, where her son, Chuck, ran an inn.

Helen also volunteered for years at Waterman Hospital, now known as Advent Health.

Living life with joy, she didn't let anything bother her, a philosophy that served her well. When she was at a wedding her foot would start tapping and she couldn't wait until they played "her music" so she could foxtrot or waltz, especially with her brother-in-law, Eddie Minchello.

Helen returned to Massachusetts and stayed with Laura and her family for a year. But she missed the warm weather and her house. Laura said she is grateful for the time she had with her mother.

When she turned 91, her daughter Debi and her husband George moved to Florida to help Helen, so she could stay in her home and for which she was very grateful. Her sense of humor never wavered and she often was happy sitting on a chair with Debi's dog, Joey, watching her soap, Days of our Lives, which she watched from its beginning in 1965. She also enjoyed visits from her niece Carol Minchello Magliaro.

Helen is survived by her son Chuck Anzalone and his husband Peter Bez of Salem, Ma; daughter Rosemary Anzalone Bartolik, and her husband, Peter of Naples, FL; Deborah Fitzemeyer and her husband George of Leesburg, FL; and Laura Acosta and her husband Keith of Stow, MA; six grandchildren, Nicole Fitzemeyer of South Boston; Colin Bartolik and his wife, Lauren of Wakefield, MA; Scott Fitzemeyer and his wife Kathleen of Lynnfield, MA; Ashleigh Bartolik of Arlington, VA; Jose and Javier Acosta of Stow, MA; and one great granddaughter, Lily Fitzemeyer of Lynnfield, MA. Besides her two husbands, she was predeceased by her sisters Catherine Minchello and Josephine Minchello, and her brothers Henry Mobilia, John Mobilia, and Anthony Mobilia. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren.

A funeral mass and celebration of her life will be held March 5 at the Immaculate Conception Church in Malden, MA. Donations may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Fitze's team‪ , 220 N Main Street #104, Natick, Ma 01760 .