Helen passed away on home hospice on July 24, 2025 at the age of 73. Helen was born in Johnstown, PA on Jan. 10, 1952 to the late Earl Ashton Pugh and Jessie Gladys Pugh (Dell).

Helen is the mother of Christina (Michael), Gerard (Vladlena), George (Janet). Grandmother to Dallas, Veronica (Vincent), Andrey, Liam, Evalynn, Matt, Konrad, Sophia, and Zack. Sister of Charles (Jackie) and Dale (Fran). She is predeceased by her husband, George Van Note Jr. and son Daniel Erik.

Helen moved to Levittown, PA from Johnstown at the age of 9. At the age of 20 she moved to Philadelphia where she would live most of her life. Spending her final years with her daughter in Feasterville, PA. Helen Graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Levittown in 1970. In 1972 she married her first husband, the late Joseph O'Rourke, started a family, and went back to school for nursing in 1980. She graduated from Presbyterian-University of Pennsylvania medical center in 1981 as an LPN. She continued her education a few years later at community college of Philadelphia and graduated as an RN in may of 1987. Continuing her education at Gwynedd-Mercy college with her BSN in 1999.
During her nursing career Helen worked at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, St. Mary's Medical Center in Langhorne, Princeton Hospital in New Jersey. Helen stopped work in her latter years to help take care of her late second husband George. Helen worked in oncology, med-surg, telemetry and finally pediatrics. Helen loved and was proud to be a nurse. As she put it...

"Once you're a nurse, you never retire."

Helen also had a love for animals. She said that if she wasn't a nurse she would have been a vet. She loved having animals and fostering animals. You name an animal and she probably had it as a pet or nursed an injured one back to health. There was an uncountable succession of cats being fostered by Helen throughout her life. She was always trying to find homes for the endless population of stray cats in Philadelphia. And she is the only person that I've known to pay for dental work for stray cats.

Helen and George loved to take short trips to Lancaster, Gettysburg, the Jersey shore. Vacations to Rehoboth beach, Williamsburg, Ocean City, and Vero Beach. In her later years her and George had a trailer in Sea Pines campground off of Route 9 in New Jersey.
Helen would never forget someone's birthday. She would write a birthday card and would sign every relative's name on it (dead or living). She wanted to include everyone.

Helen will be missed by friends and family for her caring nature and love of animals, people, and Jesus.

Friends and family are invited to gather on Tuesday, July 29th from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Kirk and Nice Suburban Chapel, 333 West County Line Road, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania 19006, with a service and time to share stories to follow at 2pm. Final rest will be private at the request of the family.