Helen M. Prout

Helen Patricia Mullen Prout passed away peacefully at the age of 77.  She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Maurice Prout and two sons, Christopher (Sarah) and Jeremy (Christina McCarthy) as well as five incredible and lively grandchildren, Ivy, Emily, Isabel, Teddy and Thomas.  She was born in Jersey City, New Jersey to Helen S. Mullen (nee Dooley), and Francis J. Mullen.  She is predeceased by her parents and brother, Patrick Mullen and sister, Ann Marie Hughes.  Her siblings include Kathleen Boland, Peggy Healy (John), Michael Mullen (Debra) and Francis Mullen (Lori).

Helen grew up in West New York, New Jersey.  This is where Helen met Maurice in kindergarten, growing up only one block from each other.  Helen attended and graduated from Saint Joseph’s of the Palisades High School.  Upon graduation, she attended Jersey City State, earning a bachelor’s degree in education.  Through the entirety of her education, she worked and paid her own tuition.  Helen went on to complete her master’s degree in human development at the University of Maryland.  After graduation, she was employed as a public-school teacher and social worker before settling in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia and having children.

During the years in which she was raising her sons, Helen became interested in business and earned a certificate in finance from Chestnut Hill College.  Upon returning to work, she was employed by Telerx, a company involved in health care and consumer products marketing.  She remained there for over twenty years, eventually achieving the position of Senior Vice President of Marketing.  As part of her responsibilities, Helen was instrumental in establishing a call center complex in Penticton, British Columbia.  She also presented a winning proposal to Nestle in Vevey, Switzerland.  Other notable clients Helen helped secure were Kraft, Perdue and Merck.

During the entirety of her corporate career, which demanded a grueling day to day schedule, Helen took care of her family, planning and preparing meals and helping with homework.  She was an avid reader of the Wall Street Journal and various other periodicals.  In the years subsequent to her retirement, you could find Helen glued to CNBC.  Despite being retired, she had a strong desire to stay in the game and was known for giving her sons clippings from various sources related to world events and business developments. 

Helen was devoted to her family and loved to travel seeing San Francisco, Colorado Springs, Paris and Ireland.  Above all, Helen loved Manasquan, New Jersey.  She grew up going to Manasquan and looked forward to enjoying the beach for one week each August.  She loved Manasquan because it gave her an opportunity to relax but more importantly catch up with extended family.  She always said her favorite time on the beach was the late afternoon when hardly anyone is there, the sun is at your back, the clouds hang above the ocean and the water is a deep blue. 

Perhaps her signature family accomplishment was hosting Thanksgiving dinner for over four decades. Frequently these dinners were sit down affairs of up to 35 people, all extended relatives.  After these events she would always say: “It was well worth the effort, it keeps family connected.”  Helen did it her way, she fully loved life, her family, and friends.

Relatives and friends are invited to her Visitation 5:30-8:30 PM on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 at The Donohue Funeral Home, 366 West Lancaster Ave, Wayne, PA 19087 and 9:00-10:00 AM on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, followed by her Funeral Service at 10:00 AM. Interment Washington Memorial Chapel Cemetery.

Donations in her name can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, alz.org.