March 8, 1926 – April 7, 2020
Peacefully in her sleep on the early morning of April 7, 2020, Helen passed away at the age of 94 years young.
She was predeceased by her parents, Laszlo (1979) and Barbara (1992) and brother Louis (2013). Left to cherish her memory are Louis’s wife Joanne and their four children Bryan, Paul, Philip and Valerie and her great nephews Austin, Aaron and Matthew.
Helen will also be dearly missed by her friends she considered family in California, Charles “Chuck” Smith, his wife Lois and daughter Kathee.
Helen was born in Kipling Saskatchewan; her father Laszlo was employed by the C.P.R. With a few short stops in between Laszlo was transferred to Birtle, Manitoba in 1943. Helen had fond memories of her teenage years there. In 1946 Helen came to Winnipeg and took a job as a live-in domestic helper for a family in Tuxedo. She learned the importance of looking sharp and always being well dressed, a trait she carried with her through her entire life. In 1955 Helen took a job at a Winnipeg hotspot, The Point House Nightclub. She worked as the hat check girl and helped with whatever was needed to keep the busy night spot running. She shared many a story of late-night parties with the “in crowd” in Winnipeg. In 1958 Helen went for an interview at Great West Life, she immediately made an impression dressed sharply in mustard skirt and blouse with matching purse and heels. She told me it was her fashion sense that got her the job, but it was her hard work ethic and intelligence that saw her rise quickly in the ranks of the collections department. Her hard work paid off as she secured a position with the Canada Revenue Agencies auditing department in 1965 where she would spend the remainder of her working career until retirement in 1981. One of her highlights while working on assignment in Ottawa was the day, she bumped into Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, or should I say he bumped into her, literally. They shared a laugh together in the moment, she described him as “not the most good-looking man but he had the sexiest personality of any man I ever met”.
Not long after retirement Helen moved to Essex, Ontario to care for her mother for the next several years until her mother Barbara’s passing in 1992. Helen moved back and forth between Windsor Ontario and Winnipeg before settling in Winnipeg in 1999. She bought a condo at 55 Nassau and set out to travel the world. Travel she did from China to Brazil, Europe, South America, Mexico and every stop in between. She loved cruises and the nightlife they provided, especially dancing. This is where she met Chuck Smith, the two became very close friends and shared many a winter together in California.
Helen had 93 amazing years of health and happiness, but time caught up and over the last year Helen’s health deteriorated. She spent the last year comforted by her loyal friend Norman Simm who visited her daily and made sure she was well cared for. Helen spent her last few months at Riverwood Square in the Harmony Court wing.
Thank you to all the staff at Riverwood Square and the health care workers at Grace Hospital who saw that Helen was treated with dignity and kept in comfort despite all the challenges being faced with COVID -19.
