Helen Lechner
Jan. 26, 1945-Aug. 23, 2025
Palo Alto, California
On August 23, 2025 Helen ‘Honey’ Lechner (nee McLaughlin), daughter of James Robert McLaughlin and Winifred McLaughlin (nee Maher), loving wife of Albert ‘Al’ Lechner (deceased, 2009), and adored aunt, great-aunt, sister-in-law, and friend, passed away at the age of 80. Helen was nicknamed Honey at birth by her mother who rightly looked down at her beautiful new baby and exclaimed, “Isn’t she a little honey!” Living up to the essence of this appellation, Honey was loved by everyone who encountered her, even after leaving her nickname “back east” when she moved from Silver Spring, Maryland to Palo Alto, California in 1968 with her husband Al, and began using her proper name, Helen.
Helen and Al met through Helen’s best friend, Linda Thompson, and were married on September 16, 1967 in Silver Spring, MD. Shortly thereafter they moved to Palo Alto, a place they quickly became attached to, and determined to make their permanent home. The two were deeply in love and lived a joy-filled, active life with their many friends. They loved to hike in Yosemite, cross-country ski, enjoy Shakespeare in the park, and cook – especially French cuisine. It could even be said that they were trailblazing California foodies. Helen was a true patron of Stanford, where she had season tickets to the basketball games. She also loved to take classes there, especially in photography. In her later years, she enjoyed Stanford's travel program to France, a country for which she had a deep passion. Helen was known for her traveling lifestyle, regularly enjoying adventures in various parts of the United States and Europe in the company of her family and many dear friends. When Helen wasn’t on the go, she delighted in tutoring young children in reading at the Addison School, and volunteering at the Downtown Palo Alto Farmer’s Market where she served on the board for many years.
Helen held a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maryland and began her career at Sunset Publishing in Menlo Park. There she created one of the company's most successful ads. During her time there she also attended Santa Clara University and earned an MBA. Moving on from Sunset she began a more technically oriented career at Raychem, but she never lost touch with her friends and business associates from Sunset, and always spoke of her time there fondly. At Raychem Helen became the Director of the Communications and Design Center, where she managed the work and careers of dozens of professionals around the world. She built, inspired, and nurtured an environment that challenged people to produce award-winning work rivaling that of the best agencies and corporations anywhere. She fought for and protected her people and they in turn were fierce in their respect and affection for her. The relationships Helen developed at Raychem, like those she had cultivated at Sunset, remained a part of her life even after they closed down in 1999, and she took a position at Cisco Systems.
At Cisco Helen was on the ground floor of the new field of web-marketing, being one of the earliest to use information derived from internet traffic and statistical models, to better target corporate needs. She also provided pioneering leadership by developing one of the first online communities for technical professionals, a community that still exists today. Her colleagues spoke with admiration of her quiet but effective demeanor, her kind treatment of co-workers, and her unsurpassed effectiveness in counseling and guiding others. Helen stayed at Cisco until 2011 when she began consulting on search engine optimization for Juniper. She is remembered there as having been a knowledgeable and beloved mentor to her junior colleagues. Helen retired in 2016.
Helen’s family and childhood friends will forever think of her as their dear Honey. She is already missed by them more than words can express. Her joyful presence at holidays will never fail to bring the warmest of memories to her many nieces and nephews, as well as her grand nieces and nephews, who always looked so forward to her next visit. Honey’s sister-in-law, Connie Seaman, beautifully expressed the sentiment we all feel when we think of the precious gift she was to our lives, “So many memorable moments with Honey flash by and I find myself smiling! She was my Touchstone and my Soul Sister! Honey’s spirit sparkled with love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and faithfulness. I will miss being loved by her.”
Helen is survived by her nieces and nephews: James McLaughlin, Barbara McNiff (nee McLaughlin), Marianne McLaughlin, and Christopher McLaughlin. She is also survived by her eight great nieces and nephews who loved her dearly: Isabella Gerrard (nee McNiff), Gwyneth McNiff, Sophia McNiff, Brighid McNiff, John McNiff, Alyssia Krause, Kyler McLaughlin, and Tate McLaughlin.
Tags: business
