Helen Dlugo, owned ice cream stand

Helen Heibeck Dlugo of Nod Hill Road, whose ice cream was enjoyed by countless people for nearly 40 years, died Sunday, Aug. 26, after a brief illness. She was 77 years old and the widow of Robert “Red” Dlugo.
Mrs. Dlugo had owned and operated Heibeck’s Ice Cream Stand on Route 7 in Georgetown, opening it with her mother in 1952.
“She made all her own ice cream,” said her son, Donald Dlugo of Ridgefield. Customers “came from all over. One couple used to come up from New Jersey, just to buy her ice cream.”
Mrs. Dlugo was born in Danbury on Jan. 5, 1924, a daughter of the late George and Katherine Dlhy Heibeck. She grew up in the Wilton section of Georgetown on the property where later she would operate her ice cream stand. Because Wilton had no high school at the time, she attended Danbury High School, graduating in 1941.
In the 1940s Mrs. Dlugo and her mother worked in the cafeteria of the Gilbert and Bennett Wire Mill in Georgetown. In 1952, they struck out on their own, opening a small diner in the log cabin on Route 7.
Soon after, Mrs. Dlugo began making her own ice cream. It proved so popular that she eventually concentrated the business on selling many flavors of homemade ice cream, though she continued to carry hamburgers and hot dogs as well. Especially on hot summer evenings and weekends, Heibeck’s Ice Cream Stand was a destination for families from throughout central Fairfield County, and it was commonplace to see people lined up to buy ice cream cones and sundaes.
In 1990, the year her husband died, Mrs. Dlugo retired and sold the business, which is today called Inside Scoops.
Mrs. Dlugo and her husband built their home in Ridgefield in 1952. Although she lived in Ridgefield, Mrs. Dlugo maintained many close associations with Georgetown. She had been a volunteer at the Georgetown United Methodist Church Thrift Shop for many years, working every Friday. She was active in Heritage House, the senior citizens center in Redding.
For relaxation, she enjoyed flower gardening.
Besides her son from Ridgefield, Mrs. Dlugo is survived by a daughter, Carol Parker of Scott Depot, W.Va.; two brothers, George W. Heibeck and Donald E. Heibeck, both of Georgetown; three grandchildren, Alicia and Ryan Parker, and Darren Dlugo; and several nieces and nephews. A sister, Ann K. Heibeck, died before her.
Services and burial were private.
Contributions in her memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 372 Danbury Road, Wilton CT 06897.
The Bouton Funeral Home in Georgetown was in charge of arrangements.