Helen P. Kolanage

Helen P. Kalanage, age 89, fell asleep in the Lord on June 17, 2015. She was a resident of Friendship Village in Basking Ridge, NJ. Born in Newark, NJ, Helen was the daughter of the late Peter and Julia (Kolonage) Poprotsky. Helen was preceded in death by her mother in 1929, and later by her father while Helen was a young girl. She was adopted and raised by her beloved Aunt, Anna Kolanage of Mayfield, PA. She graduated from grammar school and high school in Mayfield and later attended Somerset Community College in North Branch, NJ. She was an active communicant at The Orthodox Church of Saint Gregory Palamas in Glen Gardner, NJ, the first Eastern Orthodox church in Hunterdon County. Helen was employed in the Business Management Department of the NJ Hospital for Chest Diseases, located in Glen Gardner, NJ, which opened in 1907 and closed in 1975. Helen was retained at the location until the facility became the Hagerdorn Center of Psychiatric Geriatrics and re-opened in 1977. Helen continued her employment in the Business Management Department until her retirement in 1986, following 38 years of dedicated service. Helen is survived by relatives. Funeral service for Helen will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 20, 2015 at St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Cathedral, 700 Hill Street, Mayfield, PA 18433. Interment in the parish cemetery will follow. Viewing will be from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday evening at The Orthodox Church of Saint Gregory Palamas, 5 Church Street, Glen Gardner, NJ 08826. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ 08822. Please visit www.holcombefisher.com for further information or to leave an online condolence. In lieu of flowers, memorials to various secular and religious organizations in providing food for the hungry is preferred.