Helen Jessie Woodward, 29, of Mountain View, CA, died peacefully on May 10, 2022 in the presence of her family from the cumulative effects of metastatic melanoma.   She fought this cancer with grace and fortitude for over 4 years.  While greatly saddened by her early passing, her family and all who knew her are blessed by the time she spent with us.  She is survived by her parents Ted and Sheri Woodward, and her loving sister Miriam Joyce Woodward, all of Mountain View, CA, in addition to Grandparents Pam Woodward, Aurelia Smith, and many aunts, uncles, cousins, virtual cousins, and dear friends.

Helen was born on Oct. 12, 1992 to Sheri and Ted Woodward in Red Bank, New Jersey.  After graduating from High Technology High School in Monmouth County, New Jersey in 2011, she attended Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, CA, earning a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics in 2015.  Upon graduation, Helen joined Soasta, a startup web development company, as a software engineer.  She stayed there through the remainder of her career, including subsequent acquisition of Soasta by Akamai, Inc.  Helen steadily progressed in her career as a software engineer and demonstrated a high degree of professional excellence yet did not allow work to dominate her life and was a joy to all who knew her.

Helen loved mentally engaging games of all kinds.  An enthusiastic member of a bowling league, she also enjoyed bicycling, miniature golf, hiking, Pathfinder, Dungeons and Dragons, and community game nights and events.   Helen was an avid reader, and especially enjoyed reading high fantasy and science fiction.  She was unfailingly honest and genuine.  You always knew where you stood with Helen.

In lieu of flowers, Helen's family suggests donations to the Cancer Research Institute ( https://www.cancerresearch.org/en-us ) to further research in immunotherapy, the Anita Borg institute for Women in Technology, ( https://anitab.org/donate/ ), or the Archive of Our Own ( https://archiveofourown.org/donate ) for furtherance of user-generated fiction.

We invite you to share your thoughts, cherished memories, and photos on this site.  Sign up for notifications regarding an upcoming celebration of Helen's life by sending e-mail to this link (info 'at' eastbrooktech.com).