Helga A. Zander

Helga Zander, "Oma Helga", 84, of Sanford, passed away peacefully at Sanford Pinnacle Health and Rehab on December 20, 2021. She was born in Coburg, Germany on January 13, 1937, to Werner and Pauline (Sieges) Zander. She grew up during WW2, finished high school and went on for apprenticeship as a Photo Lab Technician in Nuernberg, Germany. Helga enjoyed a long career working in the photo lab at a local newspaper in Coburg until she immigrated to the United States in 1990 to be closer to her daughter and family. She initially worked as a live-in Housekeeper/Nanny in Sudbury and Wellesley, MA, loving those families as her own, and then moved to Sanford in 2002 where she worked in the photo lab at Sanford Walmart until her retirement in 2014. Oma Helga loved her family with all her heart and soul. Her grandsons will forever be known as "her boys". She loved giving them and their friends rides to practices and after-school activities and was always there to help with anything they needed. She enjoyed taking trips and seeing new places and of late, her three great-grandsons were bringing tremendous joy to her life. Most of all, she always loved spending time with family, and playing cards and bingo with her friends at Mayflower Place was becoming a new favorite. There is no way to express how much everyone will miss her! Helga was predeceased by her parents Werner and Pauline (Sieges) Zander and a half-sister Inge (Zander) Werner. She is survived by her daughter Diana and husband "Jean" L'Heureux of Lyman; grandsons Jesse L'Heureux and fiance Kayla Hathaway of Auburn, and Joey L'Heureux and fiance Emily Waltz of Waldoboro; great-grandsons Alexander, Bradyn, and Arthur; her sister Renate and husband "Joachim" Eggerer; nieces Gaby Eggerer and Drea Eggerer (all of Passau, Germany); niece Bitti Schoenau and nephew Dieter Werner (all of Sonneberg, Germany), and many great-nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her aunt, Margarete Borneff of Mainz, Germany, and cousins Marianne Borneff-Lipp of Wettin, Germany and Christine Stimpel of Duesseldorf, Germany. Her family would like to thank all staff at Mayflower Place for the loving care she received over the past 3 years, and many thanks also to staff at SMHC Sanford and Biddeford, Maine Medical Center, New England Rehab and Pinnacle Sanford for their compassionate care during the past 6 months. Family and Friends are invited to a Celebration of Life at Black Funeral Home in Springvale on Saturday, January 15, 2022 from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 with a memorial service at 3:00. Arrangements are under the direction of Black Funeral Homes and Cremation Service, Sanford-Springvale. To leave a message of condolences click on Helga's Tribute Page.