Helen Perse

Perse, Helen Kalamazoo Helen Bayla (Seltzer) Perse, beloved mother and grandmother, passed away at the age of 92 on Wednesday July 6 at 11:30pm at Friendship Village in Kalamazoo, MI. She was born in 1930 near Pittsburgh PA to Jewish parents who had immigrated from Eastern Europe and settled in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. She was a child of the Depression; she had had just 1 skirt and 2 blouses to her name and her father, a housepainter, was forced to move the family to Los Angeles when she was about 10 to find work. Still, she made do. In what would be a pattern throughout her life – harnessing a single-minded determination -- Helen taught herself to sew and knit until she became a master seamstress who could fix or create anything, her wardrobe eventually blooming into dozens of expertly crafted sweaters, coats, and dresses. She was very bright, often helping neighborhood children to read. Following that pattern of grit and tenacity, she completed secretarial school and, years later, painstakingly taught herself shorthand and word processing to become an executive secretary at a HUD management firm in Los Angeles. But her true passion and calling was voice, and had she been able to follow it to its zenith, she would have been one of the great coloratura opera singers of her day. Helen's talent was spotted early, and she was classically trained; at 18 she was even offered a scholarship to study voice in Italy! Unfortunately, other obligations got in the way, and she was unable to complete her studies. Nevertheless, Helen continued to perform, mostly at private functions and local productions at the Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles. It was in one of those productions that she met her future husband, Jack Perse, who was one of those "jack of all trades," including, of course, acting and fine art. After they were married, Jack taught Helen to paint, and she found yet another talent at which she excelled. They had a son and a daughter, and Helen gave them the greatest gift a mother can give – she taught them how to love, mostly by example, showering them with affection and fostering their independence. In 2011, after Jack died, Helen came to live in Kalamazoo to be with her daughter and she finally got to better know and enjoy her granddaughters. She also gave them many gifts, the most important being the gift of music and behold -- all three girls ended up with beautiful singing voices! Helen is survived by her daughter Rachel (Jeff) Haus, son Adam Perse, and granddaughters Shira, Nava, and Mazal. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Music Center of South Central Michigan (https://yourmusiccenter.org) or the National Alliance on Mental Illness (https://nami.org/home). To View Helen's personalized guestbook, please visit https://www.langelands.com