A.V. SENIOR HEAD OF ONE BIG FAMILY; OFFSPRING OF LANCASTER OCTOGENARIAN UP TO 104.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Greeting card companies should send a thank-you note to Helen Doyle.

Every year, the 87-year-old Lancaster matriarch sends birthday greetings to everyone in her family - her five children, 33 grandchildren, 65 great-grandchildren and, of course, her sole great-great-grandchild.

``It's quite a family,'' said Doyle, a spry woman with twinkling eyes who tracks the birthdays in a neatly organized, turquoise three-ring binder.

``You always can depend on Grandma to get a birthday card,'' said Carolyn Altieri, Doyle's 64-year-old daughter, who lives in Lancaster and has five children of her own.

Altieri has cherished memories of growing up in a family of six children. Her youngest brother, Clifford, died in 1982 of a heart attack at age 46.

``She always rocked us to sleep, one after another. She would start with the oldest and get down to the youngest,'' Altieri said. ``That was her time of rest, getting us to go to sleep.''

In the days leading up to Mother's Day, Altieri and her sister, Connie Barnes, visited Doyle at her apartment in a senior complex, which is filled with pictures of relatives, and talked lovingly of their mother.

``She's the best in the world. You couldn't ask for better in all ways,'' said Barnes, 68, of Lancaster, who has 11 children. ``She's caring and always helpful and there when you need her.''

Doyle interjected, ``I'm just an ordinary mom, a plain, ordinary mom.''

``Yeah, but one of a kind,'' Barnes quickly replied.

Helen and her husband, Paul, moved their family to California from a small Indiana town in 1948, after a family trip to Washington state.

``My daughter said, `Wow, if you want to come back to California, we'd like to come back,' '' Doyle recalled. ``It was beautiful weather - nice and warm.''

The family went home to Indiana, sold the house, and moved to Hawthorne, where they lived for 14 years before relocating to Lancaster in 1962. Paul Doyle worked as a truck driver for North American Aviation, which later became Rockwell, then Boeing.

Helen Doyle also worked as a North American electrician from 1951 to 1957, installing wiring in planes.

After her husband retired in 1965, they traveled for 13 years, spending a lot of time in Arizona. Paul died in 1978 after more than 51 years of marriage, and Helen returned to Lancaster.

Doyle, who will turn 88 in June, maintains an active lifestyle. She plays pool every Monday at the senior center thanks to a neighbor's instruction, performs with the Happy Singers group at rest homes and crochets afghans for babies and weddings.

She recently spent seven weeks in Indianapolis to help celebrate her oldest daughter's 50th wedding anniversary and danced at the party - despite falling and breaking her kneecap last autumn.

Doyle had a hard time finding a card for the occasion.

``She told us, `I've been hunting everywhere for a card that says happy anniversary to daughter and husband,' '' Altieri said. ``We started laughing and said, Mother, how many cards could they sell? How many mothers are around for a 50th wedding anniversary?''

Since Doyle turned 70, the family has thrown her birthday bashes every five years. About two-thirds of the clan gathered for her 85th birthday party at a ranch on Lancaster's east side.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1-2--Color) Above, Helen Doyle of Lancaster displays a scrapbook she received from family members on her 85th birthday. Left, Doyle (second row, fourth from left) poses with members of her large extended family in 1995 during her 85th birthday celebration. The 87-year-old Antelope Valley woman has 104 descendants and never forgets to send a birthday card to any of them.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News