Austin Lee Helmbreck

Austin Lee Helmbreck, 92, of Butler, passed away Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, in Butler Memorial Hospital.
Born March 28, 1933, in Springboro, Pennsylvania, he was a son of the late Arthur Helmbeck and Gladys Seavy Helmbeck.
At age 18, Austin joined the U.S. Army during the Korean War, working stateside as a clerk. For his service, he received full college tuition. While attending Edinboro University, he worked for the railroad. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. Austin also received a Master’s Degree in Administration from Penn State University. His 33-year teaching career began in Wattsburg, Pennsylvania, where he taught for one year. The remainder of his career was working for the Butler Area School District, with one year at Bon Aire and 31 years at Emily Brittain Elementary School. Austin calculated that he taught approximately 924 students in his career. Toward the end of his career, he taught many children of students he had when he started his teaching career in Butler.
Austin was a soft-spoken, patient and kind man, who would do anything to help anyone and only wanted everyone around him to be happy. He was an early-riser, who cheerily woke the family up singing or whistling. He was great at telling “Dad jokes”; oftentimes, the twinkle in his bright blue eyes would give away that a joke was incoming.
Austin loved sharing his knowledge. He not only taught his children and grandchildren how to ride bikes, but also how to fix and maintain them. He liked working on cars and doing home renovations. When doing renovations, he always found a place to write “Austin was here” before covering it up with drywall, flooring, tile, etc. During the summer months off from teaching, the family traveled the East Coast to explore historical sites and national parks. He did all the driving while pulling a camper. He never missed reading a plaque to absorb the knowledge of the site. After retirement, he and Josephine explored the western states before deciding to snowbird in Naples, Florida. He liked to build model cars; balsa wood airplanes; read about wars and shipwrecks, animal facts and joke books for new material; and his favorite pastime in the latter years was doing intricate paint-by-number paintings.
We are so fortunate to have been a part of his life. Austin was here, and he made the world a better place for everyone around him.
He is survived by his loving wife, Josephine Gardina Helmbreck, whom he married March 29, 1961, after meeting at a teacher’s volleyball game; two children, Lisa Helmbreck, of Butler, and John Helmbreck, of Albion, Michigan; four grandchildren, Krista Washkau; Kyle Washkau; Lilia Helmbreck and her husband, Jesse Jordan; Samuel Helmbreck; and a number of nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by twin siblings, Arthur “Jack” Helmbreck and Jacqueline “Jackie” Lascek.
Friends will be received in the Martin Funeral Home Downtown, 201 E. Cunningham St., Butler, on Monday, Nov. 3, from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, please donate in memory of Austin Lee Helmbreck to Shriners Hospitals for Children c/o Shriners Children’s Processing Center, P.O. Box 947765, Atlanta, GA 30394, or online at donate.shrinerschildrens.org