Helen Buchen, beloved sister and aunt, died March 8, 2021. She was a lifelong resident of Zionsville, living her entire life in the house in which she was born. She was the daughter of the late Anthony and Tessa (Bandura) Buchen.

She attended a local one room schoolhouse and then graduated from Emmaus High School in 1945. Following graduation she attended Sacred Heart School of Nursing in Allentown and obtained her RN degree in 1948. She studied for an additional year and became a nurse anesthetist in 1949, among the earliest in that profession. She greatly enjoyed this field and worked as an anesthetist for 45 years at various hospitals, among them Allentown General, Mercy Hospital in Wilkes Barre, Jeanes Hospital in Fox Chase, Women’s Medical in Philadelphia. She retired from Osteopathic Hospital in 1994. She also taught and published in the field.

While working part time, she attended Cedar Crest College in Allentown and obtained a bachelor of science degree in 1959 with a major in biology. Her favorite subjects included literature and history as well as science. She enjoyed reading, especially poetry and inspirational readings. Her other interests were painting and listening to classical music. Most of all she enjoyed spending time with her cats and dogs.

She is survived by a sister, Mary Rumfield, of Elizabethtown and brothers, John and Joseph, of Zionsville and Harry, of West Palm Beach, Fla. She was predeceased by sisters, Kathryn Schwartz and Julia Sterner; nieces Virginia Guth, Elaine Burgess, Patricia Diefenderfer and Nancy Rumfield; nephews, Robert Schwartz, William Sterner and Donald Sterner.

Memorial contributions may be made to Cedar Crest College. Include her name on the memo line and in a note designate the School of Nursing Scholarship Program, (100 College Drive, Allentown, 18104).

Arrangements were made by the Boyko Funeral Home, Allentown.