Helena Eunice Blondin Freitas Crecraft passed away peacefully on February 27, 2016 at her home at Beaumont of Bryn Mawr with her three daughters and other family members at her side. Loving mother and wife, fast friend, superb interior designer, sailor's mate, gardener, world traveler and adventuress, tennis aficionado, and expert skier, Helena loved life and lived life to the fullest. Her indomitable spirit and joie de vie were her hallmarks, and she will long be remembered for her style, energy, and creative entertaining. Her last weeks were filled with love through family visits and wonderful care at Beaumont.

Born in 1923 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada, Helena grew up one of eight siblings. Helena was a brilliant student in chemistry and languages, and later worked for Bechtel Industries in Edmonton, Alberta.

In 1945, she married Edward Francis Freitas and raised three loving daughters living in Buffalo, New York, Cleveland, Ohio, and finally settling in Berwyn, PA in 1957. She pursued a successful interior and industrial design business, designing homes and offices in Philadelphia, Florida, and New York, starting with professional associations with B. Altman and Company and Shaw Walker. She later established her own firm Helena Freitas Interiors. Over the years, she designed many rooms for the annual Vassar Show House.

In 1972, Helena married Richard Guthrie Crecraft and moved to Villanova, PA. They traveled throughout the world, supported Philadelphia's great cultural institutions, and entertained magically in their beloved and historic converted barn "Woodstock" which was Helena's home base for 41 years. Their ski trips to Europe and the Rockies are the stuff of legend, and when not on the slopes, they enjoyed winters at their second home in Ocean Ridge, Florida. After Richard's passing, Helena continued to enjoy both homes with family and friends until moving to Beaumont at Bryn Mawr in 2013.

Helena is survived by her three daughters, Eva Lynn Finlon, Nancy Lorrie Fleming, and Sally Anne Cooke, her step children Frederick Harrison Crecraft, Harrison Ruffin Crecraft, and Susan Guthrie Crecraft, four sons- and daughters-in-law, eight grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Helena's step daughter Hemitra Crecraft (nee Carie) predeceased her.

Family and friends will gather on Monday May 9, 2016, 10:30 AM at St. David's Episcopal Church, 763 Valley Forge Rd., Wayne, PA., for a Celebration of her spirit and life. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in her name to Radnor Historical Society, 113 W. Beechtree Ln., Wayne, PA 19087, www.radnorhistory.org or to Delaware County SPCA, 555 Sandy Bank Rd., Media, PA 19063 or to Habitat for Humanity, 1829 N. 19th St., Philadelphia PA 19121.