Helene Rosenheim is one of those rare native Washingtonians, born in Washington, DC at the Old Sibley Hospital nine months after her late husband, Eliot, whom she met in 11th grade at Northwood High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. When she was one and a half years old, her parents bought a small storefront grocery store in Northeast Washington where the family lived until she was in sixth grade. They then moved to Northwest Washington so her sister could attend Coolidge High School. Helene later attended Coolidge as well, until the family moved to Silver Spring, at which point she transferred to Northwood High School in the 11th grade.
Her formal introduction to Judaism had an unusual beginning. A short, stocky, gruff rabbi came to her parents claiming that Helene had approached him asking to learn about Judaism. Although she was too shy to have ever done so, her parents enrolled her in Ezras Israel Synagogue in Northeast Washington, where she attended Hebrew school with Max and Norman Deckelbaum (owners of Shalom Kosher Market) and two other students. The school consisted of just two rooms, and she studied there for several years. As this was an Orthodox synagogue, a Bat Mitzvah was not an option; however, Helene later participated in an adult B’nai Mitzvah at B’nai Shalom of Olney in 1993.
Helene commuted to the University of Maryland beginning as a math major with the intention of pursuing computer science, although formal computer science curricula did not exist at the time. After encountering a few challenges, she ultimately earned a bachelor’s degree in 1967 in elementary education with a focus on mathematics.
After graduating, she worked in several clerical positions before joining the Civil Service Commission, now known as the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. She began by processing refunds and retirement applications for federal employees, and later transitioned to writing classification standards—documents used by federal agencies to determine the grade levels of positions they created. After 30 years with the federal government, Helene moved to a part-time schedule so she could also begin part-time work at Montgomery County’s Mid-County Regional Service Center, where she continued working for another 10 years after retiring from OPM.
Following her marriage in June 1969, Helene and her husband lived in Wheaton and Rockville, Maryland before settling in Olney in 1976. There, they raised their two children, Alex and Stacy, and Olney remains Helene’s home today.
Helene and her family joined B’nai Shalom of Olney in 1986 and have maintained their membership ever since. Over the years, she has devoted much of her time to the synagogue kitchen, overseeing the preparation of onegim and kiddushim and coordinating with B’nai Mitzvah families. Her involvement at B’nai Shalom has extended well beyond the kitchen, including serving as a Levi, reading several Torah portions, participating in Women’s Circle (including serving as its President), regularly attending services, and supporting the community in any way she can.
Outside of B’nai Shalom, Helene has dedicated much of her time to numerous organizations in Olney, frequently serving as chair or president. These include the Greater Olney Civic Association, the Olney Civic Fund—where she helped coordinate a community event—Olney Days, which she has supported for 36 years, the Olney Town Center Advisory Committee overseeing the implementation of part of the Olney Master Plan, and Project Change, which provided leadership experiences for Olney youth. Above all, she makes time to be with and support her grandchildren.