John F. Helldorfer

HELLDORFER, JOHN F. of Niskayuna, NY on April 7, 2020 two weeks shy of his 82nd birthday, after a brief illness. John was predeceased by his beloved wife of 57 years, Clare Ann (nee Walsh), his parents John and Anna and his older brothers Edward and Bernard. He is survived by his adoring children Ellen Ralbovsky (Russell) of Niskayuna, Michael (Pamela) of Huntington and Theresa Schmidt (Peter) of Port Orange, FL, along with his six beloved grandchildren Megan Bueno (Justin), Lindsay, Nicole, Eric, Kristen and William.

John was born in Ridgewood, Queens and at age 21 John and Clare married and soon after started their family. In 1963 they bought their first home in Wantagh and in 1970 moved to Centerport where they lived happily for nearly 50 years. John spent his career as a corporate tax accountant with Union Carbide, Pfizer, Revlon and finally the Paramount Group before retiring in 2002. But his true passion was spending time with his family playing games, cards, bowling and systematically solving the NY Times crossword puzzle in ink! He had a long love/hate relationship with the Jets and Mets, the latter only after his first true sports team ditched Brooklyn and his favorite haunt Ebbets Field was razed. After Clare's passing in 2017, John moved to Niskayuna, NY. There he settled into an independent retirement community where he quickly made new friends and enjoyed a wonderful assortment of activities, fine dining, trips and much loved time with his family.

John will be sorely missed; he was generous, loving, a welcome member at any social gathering, and the kindest man you'll ever meet.

A memorial mass with family and friends will be held in his honor at a later date.