Helen M. Abdo

Helen M. Abdo, 99, loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 11th. Helen (Nana) lived a beautiful life and she will be missed by all. Helen was born on June 22, 1926 in Syracuse, NY to Simon (Samuel) Mahshie and Olga Nasair Khoury. Helen attended St. Lucy’s Academy. In her early years she worked as a teller for First Trust Bank. Helen married Alexander Abdo on October 20, 1946. Helen and her late husband Alexander were co-owners of Abdo’s Market in Toomey Abbott Towers. In 1980 Helen and Alexander retired and moved to Florida where they lived for 36 years. Helen moved back to Syracuse in 2016 to be closer to her family.

Helen is predeceased by her husband Alexander; great-grandson Nathan; four brothers Henry, James, Rev. Louis, and Nicholas Mahshie; two sisters Mary Reale and Hazel Conan. Surviving are her daughter Cheryl (Cherri) Abdo Ferguson (Paul); Sons Sam (Paula) and Curtis (Toni) Abdo; eleven grandchildren, Paula Hendrickson (Greg), Heather Ferguson (Kevin), Kimberly and Robert Ferguson; Alexander (Jamie) Abdo, Jonathan (Amy) Abdo, Samantha Arliss (Matthew), Alexis Abdo-Davis (Timothy), James Paul (Kelly) Abdo; Erica and Matthew (Desiree) Abdo; nine great-grandchildren Jacob (Madison) Treisch; Olivia and Emma Abdo; Leo Abdo; James, Samuel, and Mira Arliss; Arya Abdo-Davis; Atlas and Nolan Abdo; one great-great-grandson Christian Treisch; and her sister Edna Zeppetello.

Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, July 17, 2025 at 10 am at St. Elias Church 4988 Onondaga Rd Syracuse. A Calling hour will be held from 9-10 am at the church. Helen will be laid to rest in Woodlawn Cemetery.

The family would like to extend a special Thank You to the doctors and nurses on the Palliative Care Unit at Upstate University Hospital for their kind and compassionate care. We would especially like to thank Dr. Suman Swarnkar (Medical Director of Palliative Care) for her gentle, gracious. and sympathetic interactions with us. She was extremely compassionate and offered her expertise to help us make decisions that were so very difficult for us. We will forever be grateful to her.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Helen’s name to Francis House, 108 Michaels Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13208.