Helen Marion Messina, age 91, of Scarsdale, NY, formerly of Mix Ave., Hamden, CT, passed away in Calvary Hospital in NY on September 26, 2009. Helen is the widow of Anthony Messina. Born in New Haven on April 8, 1918, she was a daughter of the late James & Anna Marie Grande Marcello. Helen is survived by her daughter, Barbara & her husband William Scher, MD of Scarsdale, NY, grandchildren; Gina S. Scher & her husband Daniel Goodin and William A. Scher, Jr. & his wife Gina Louise Sciarra, Great Granddaughter, Alazne Pax Sciarra-Scher and a sister Esther & her husband Michael Raccio, Sr. of Toms River, NJ. Helen was predeceased by her sisters Marceline Cavallaro & Mary Grillo. Helen was a former co-owner of Lorel Clothing Store in Hamden and a former saleswoman for Jean Nicole Store. Funeral from BEECHER & BENNETT FUNERAL HOME, 2300 Whitney Ave., Hamden, on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009 at 10:30 AM, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM celebrated by her first cousin The Rev. Monsignor John Conte in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Hamden. Entombment will follow in St. Lawrence Garden Mausoleum, West Haven. Friends may also visit with her family Thursday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 AM at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers contributions in her memory may be made to The American Heart Association, 5 Brookside Dr., Wallingford, CT 06492.