Obituary of Lydia Hellerud

On December 14th, 2019, Lydia Hellerud's Golden Heart stopped beating, she looks forward to being with her Lord and savior- one who never gave up on her, unlike what is done here on earth. She also looks forward to being with relatives and friends who have gone before her.

Lydia was born on January 3rd, 1927 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn NY to Norwegian immigrants John and Dagny Hellerud, the fourth of 12 children. She spent her early years living in a home her father built in Dungan Hills Staten Island, NY. When her father John Hellerud, an engineer, was building the overpass on route 7, over the railroad tracks in Unadilla, NY, he fell in love with the area. Lydia's mother, Dagny Hellerud, did not want to raise her children in the City, so in 1937 they purchased farmland in Masonville, NY. where her father also built their house. She attended Bainbridge and Sidney schools, and was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church.

Prior to moving to Masonville, NY, one of the other places her parents were considering was a house in Hopewell NJ. While there, two men came and went into the basement. Lydia followed them and overheard them talking about the Lindberg baby and recalled hearing them say that he was still alive and going by the name "Harold" and a good Norwegian sounding last name. When a man named Harold Olson was asking if he was the Lindberg baby she felt that his story corresponded to what she heard in the basement of that house so many years ago. She researched the information of both Harold and other theories and came to believe that Harold Olson was the child. She wrote articles on this topic and was published in the local paper.

Lydia was a loving and caring Christian person, always helping others and never considered thinking of herself. No matter how difficult things became, she always had a smile for others and tried to make others laugh. Her outlook on life is that Life is a series of decisions, doing nothing is one way of making a decision but, would say a better way is to analyze carefully what you can do, you are given a golden opportunity to become somebody and never again will you be offered this opportunity, life will end before you know it. When her father abandoned the family, she left school (at an early age) to work full time as a Nanny in NYC to help support her younger siblings and mother. Once her siblings were adults, she went back to school and studied dental hygiene, cosmetology and nursing. Lydia united these skills by doing private duty care for affluent families in New York City, where she cared for elderly clients. One of her better known clients was the family of John L. Goldwater who produced the Archie comics. Her work led to the meeting of many well-known people. One summer when she was working at a resort in the Catskills she befriended a young man who wanted to become an actor. His name was Paul Newman, who later became a famous actor.

Lydia loved children, animals and helping others. In her retirement she helped many animals as well as others. She loved to visit zoos and other places with animals. And, no matter how sick she became, she was always eager to travel. In most years, including this past summer, she would attend the Seventh-Day Adventist camp-meeting in Union Springs NY, the Delaware County fair. the New York State fair, the Scandinavian Fest in Budd Lake NJ, and would attend the fellowship of Christian Magicians conference held in either Indiana or Nashville TN. Lydia frequently visited her brothers and sisters in California, and had three visits to the home of her ancestors in Norway. She was grateful that her parents passed on the Norwegian language to her and her siblings as well as to a number of the grandchildren.

She was an energetic woman who would never give up on life. She kept recovering and returning to doing the things she loved, and going to the places that she loved. Refusing to give up due to her determination to live, therefore living long after the medical community gave up on her. Despite aging and worsening medical conditions, she was like the energizer bunny, always coming back from near death experiences. Shocking the medical community who doubted she would survive as long as she did…By sheer dedication to life she overcame so many obstacles and refused to give up, she said she was going to fight until the end and refused hospice. She had a positive outlook on life. Unfortunately due to her age, she felt abandoned by some of the medical providers that she leaned on for support, therefore lost her battle of life on December 14th, 2019, a few weeks shy of turning 93 years old, but she certainly gave a good fight to live.

Lydia was the mother of four children: Due to the love and support of her daughter Lori, her grandson Cody , and her son Kevin, who helped her through her many recoveries from illness, time and time again, she lived a long life. Lydia leaves behind them- and two other children, a brother and three sisters, several nieces and nephews, two other grandchildren, one step-grandson, and one great-grandchild. Her message to others in life is to never give up.

Friends are invited to call from 2:00-5:00pm on Thursday, December 19, 2019 at C.H. Landers Funeral Chapel, 21 Main St. Sidney, NY 13838. Funeral services will be held at 1:00pm on Friday, December 20th at the funeral chapel. Burial will be held at a later date in Greenlawn Cemetery, Bainbridge. Share memories and condolences with the family online at www.landersfh.com.

Arrangements are under the direction of C.H. Landers Funeral Chapel, Sidney.