April 2, 1935 – May 10, 2021
On a cool spring day, Monday, May 10, 2021, Helen Stemerowicz passed away at Birchwood Terrace, Kenora, ON. It is impossible to sum up a life’s spirit in just a few paragraphs, yet for anyone who knew Helen, what quickly comes to mind are the words: kind, honest, optimistic, creative and caring. She truly loved life, but it was not an easy start. Born premature, she was not expected to survive more than a few days. Her mother would have none of that and nursed her to health; the end result being a long life. Raised in the community of Norman, which is now within the city of Kenora, ON to Polish immigrants, she was the third of five in her family.
Growing up, Helen attended Westward and Northward Elementary Schools and the Kenora Keewatin District High School. She completed her teacher education program (professional education program) from North Bay Teacher’s College in 1955, and then later fulfilled a long-time goal of obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen’s University in 1976. While in Kingston, she enjoyed going for walks and loved going for a Mr. Cook’s Special Blend coffee on the weekends.
Helen’s teaching career began in Marathon, ON and then Dryden, ON. She returned to Kenora and taught at Northward School until it tragically burned down. She then taught and retired from Evergreen School. She was extremely generous with her time and expertise as an educator, touching the lives of many young students. Away from her classroom, she spent countless hours preparing activities, gifts and treats to not only assist them with their learning and development but also to make them feel welcome in her classroom. All of this knowledge culminated in a teaching guide entitled “K is for Kindergarten”, a compendium of all things that an elementary school teacher should know about interacting with the young mind.
Helen and her sister Josephine were lifelong companions and lived together most of their lives. When they were younger, they toured Europe visiting France, England, Ireland, Switzerland and Italy, among others. She also travelled to Poland twice to visit aunts, uncles and cousins still living there. Helen also travelled with her younger sister Antoinette and family to Disneyland, Disneyworld, Nashville, Hawaii and Arizona. She even took her family up the CN Tower in Toronto despite not being fond of heights.
Helen obtained her driver’s licence later in life and loved the freedom that personal transportation afforded her. She actually had a garage built first, bought the car second and then finally set out to get her driver’s licence. With that accomplished, she often drove to Winnipeg with ABBA playing in the cassette player, making a stop for coffee at the halfway point in Prawda, MB. In later years, she used her car mostly to go back and forth into town for grocery shopping and to pick up a copy of the Miner and News and the Winnipeg Free Press.
The holidays were important to Helen, as it was a chance for the entire family to get together. For Christmas in particular, festivities went on for a week with great food, gifts and company. Along with her mother and sisters, Helen was a key figure in the feasts and would always carve the turkey at Christmas dinners with her electric carving knife. She made delectable pies, especially blueberry.
An incredibly creative individual, Helen threw themed birthday parties for her niece and nephew complete with cake, costumes and amazing goodie bags for the invitees. Batman, Wonder Woman, Astronauts, Barbie, and Star Wars all served as inspiration for incredible events. She also planned a 50th Anniversary party for her mother and father and a 25th Anniversary party for her sister and brother-in-law. She was a talented seamstress, cross-stitcher, needle-pointer and performed elegant crochet work, often donating these pieces for various fund-raising efforts. She became a master cake decorator and prepared beautiful and elaborate wedding cakes for both her niece and nephew.
Helen was especially devoted to her immediate and extended family in Winnipeg. Her niece spent many summers under her care picking wild blueberries in and around Kenora, taking day trips to Rushing River Provincial Park and enjoying her wonderful home-baked treats. Holidays were always filled with the fragrant aroma of freshly baked Polish bread, pierogies and tasty desserts. Birthdays always included one of her whimsically decorated cakes.
Helen had a deep love of nature, especially birds. She participated in the North America Citizen Bird Count every year for decades. She also marvelled at the foxes that would often frequent her yard looking for food and even enjoyed the many deer that would ravage the gardens in the summer.
Helen was very active in her retirement. She worked with the Retired Teachers’ Organization of Ontario in Kenora and was involved in many charitable endeavours, including making crocheted items for the LWDH, tiny dolls for children in Mexico or baking pies and muffins for local bake-sales. In her rare leisure time, she especially loved watching television game shows like “The Price is Right” and “Wheel of Fortune”. She also made extra efforts to tend to the flowers on her family’s gravesites.
She was beyond generous to her family but must have had an impact on the lives of countless others around her. It was very common for people to approach her decades after she had taught them to say “Hello” and catch up. She was always delighted to hear how the lives of her former students were evolving. Looking back on the memories we have of Helen, they all have a common thread; caring. She seemed to be most in her element when she was caring for something or someone. To that end, Helen felt it was her responsibility to keep an eye on her brother Frank, and when he passed just over two months earlier, she felt her job was done. She will be forever cherished and deeply missed by her family and friends left behind.
Helen is survived by her sister Antoinette (Everette) Carpenter, nephew Michael (Sandra) Carpenter, great-niece Maggie Carpenter, niece Dana (Ron) Smith, great-nephews Benjamin, Nathan, Thomas and William Smith. She was predeceased by her parents, Michael and Zofia Stemerowicz, her brothers Anthony and Frank and her sister Josephine.
Helen’s family would like to thank the staff at Birchwood Terrace, Dr. Bowerman, members of the RTO and the friends who visited Helen. Thank you to neighbours who graciously took care of her property and to Randy and Haley, Paul and Marge and Al who attended Helen’s graveside burial when the family could not. We also thank Cory Jinkerson of Brown’s Funeral Home for his compassion and guidance.
If desired, donations in Helen’s memory may be made to the Lake of the Woods Hospital Foundation or a charity of choice. A celebration of life event will be held at a later date.
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