Helen Shafig Mina

It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Mrs. Helen Mina on Sunday, October 27, 2013, at the age of 75. Predeceased by her brothers Dr. Fathi Mina and Issam Mina, she leaves to mourn her son Dr. Ronald Behringer, her brothers and sisters Emile, Yvonne, Nadia, Ragaa, Leila, Adil and Siham as well as nieces, nephews, family and friends. The family will receive condolences at the Centre Funéraire Côte- des-Neiges, 4525 Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal, on Thursday, October 31 from 2 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. as well as on Friday, November 1 from 10 to 11 a.m. The funeral service will be held on Friday, November 1 at 11 a.m. in the Chapel of the Resurrection of the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, 4601 Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal. In lieu of flowers, donations to Myeloma Canada (www.myeloma.ca) would be appreciated.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Biography of Helen Shafig Mina

Helen Shafig Mina was born in Khartoum, the colonial capital of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, on September 9, 1938. The daughter of Shafig Mina (of Egyptian descent, who held the position of Minister of Health of the Sudan) and Samia Haddad (of Syrian-Sudanese lineage), Helen is the second of ten children. Her siblings are Dr. Fathi Mina (predeceased), Emile Mina, Yvonne Auger, Nadia Menkveld, Ragaa Mina, Leila Mina, Dr. Adil Mina, Siham Dissler Mina, and Issam Mina (predeceased). She is the mother of Dr. Ronald Martin Behringer, and godmother to several of her nephews and nieces.

Helen completed her primary and secondary education with first class honours at the Catholic Sisters School Khartoum, where she obtained a University of Oxford General Certificate of Education, Ordinary Level in 1957. With funding from a World Health Organization fellowship, Helen enrolled in the Higher Institute of Nursing of the University of Alexandria in Egypt, earning a Bachelor of Nursing degree in 1961. During her undergraduate studies, Helen trained in the field of Pediatric Nursing at the Children’s Hospital of the University of Alexandria. She returned to the Sudan after graduation and taught nursing at the Khartoum Nursing College for two years.

In 1963, Helen arrived in Canada to pursue graduate studies at McGill University, receiving a Master of Science (Applied) degree in Nursing-Curriculum and Educational Development four years later. While studying at McGill, Helen worked part-time as a nurse at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. Following graduation, Helen continued her nursing career in Montreal. She worked at several English-language hospitals, including the Montreal General Hospital (where she began as a Staff Nurse and soon became a Clinical Instructor in the School of Nursing), the Children’s Mountain Cottage Convalescent Hospital, the Maimonides Hospital and Home for the Aged, St. Mary’s Hospital, and the Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital. Her patients ranged from babies born prematurely to the elderly requiring special care.

On February 27, 1972, Helen and Otto Martin Behringer welcomed their son Rony to the world. The following year, Helen became a proud Canadian citizen. After her retirement from nursing in 1977, Helen and Rony moved to Stockholm, Sweden, where they lived for three years. On December 8, 1979, Helen married Nils Ingemar Ahl. Helen and her family returned to Canada the next year, living first in Port Moody, British Columbia for one year before settling in Brossard, Quebec in 1981.

Driven by a passion for travel (she visited around three dozen countries during her lifetime), Helen earned a Diploma in Tourism from Concordia University in 1987 and worked as a travel agent. Moreover, she would draw on her expertise in childcare and love for children to open and operate a successful home daycare business. She also served as a volunteer librarian in her local elementary school.

Helen was a gifted artist. She was skilled at painting, macramé, needlework and jewelry making. As a high school student, Helen’s talents at painting were rewarded with an opportunity to study fine arts in Italy, which she did not pursue. Helen was also an exceptional cook and baker, always willing to experiment with new recipes from around the world. Her delicious dishes and treats made mealtime a gastronomic delight. Helen was deeply fond of animals, and had several pets over the years, including dogs, birds and fish. She lovingly fed a menagerie of squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs and birds in her backyard every morning, making sure that each animal received enough food to thrive.

On October 27, 2013, Helen passed away peacefully at the age of seventy-five following a courageous six-year battle with Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow. She was buried in the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery in Montreal on November 1, 2013.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eulogy for my Mother, Helen Shafig Mina

By Dr. Ronald Martin Behringer

Notre-Dame-de-la-Résurrection Chapel

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

November 1, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

I would like to thank all of you for coming today to honour the memory of my mother. We have each been blessed by her presence in our lives. I am a particularly blessed and fortunate man, in that God selected me to be Helen’s son and to spend the most time with her.

In February 1972, Helen walked alone to the Jewish General Hospital during a massive snowstorm to give birth to me shortly after midnight on Sunday the 27th. Forty-one years later, I was present at the Montreal General Hospital to pray for my mother as she peacefully took her final breath in front of me shortly before 8:00 am on Sunday the 27th. This is no coincidence. Sunday and the number 27 have always had special significance for us, and it was the Lord’s intent to call Mom home on the morning of Sunday the 27th just as He gave me life on the morning of Sunday the 27th.

I was by Mom’s side throughout most of her roller-coaster of a life, filled with the greatest joys as well as heart-breaking tragedies. She is my role model for her modesty and humility in the face of great achievement, and for her strength and perseverance when confronted with incredible adversity.

Helen is the trail-blazer of our family, arriving in Canada fifty years ago in order to pursue graduate studies in Nursing at McGill University. She chose to remain in this beautiful country, and served as an inspiration for other family members to immigrate. Mom would go on to build a rewarding career as a nurse, teaching nursing and working at most of the English-language hospitals in Montreal. She would also go on to run a highly successful home daycare business, and she even studied tourism and worked as a travel agent for a while, mainly to plan exciting trips for her family. We shared adventures and experiences that most people would only be able to dream of.

My mother is a woman of great courage, filled with positive energy and love for humanity. She never let multiple myeloma dampen her spirits or dim her hopes. Each Thursday at the myeloma clinic was a social event for her, as she made sure to chat with all of the patients and staff, and she helped patients to understand and to cope with the disease. Although she was long retired from working as a nurse, the nursing instinct never left her. Helen’s cool, easy-going, and sociable nature made the weekly visits to the clinic more enjoyable for the patients, as many smiles would appear once Helen walked into the waiting room.

My mother is also a woman of strong faith. She found great comfort in praying the rosary, and she blessed me each night with holy water from Fatima. As she grew more ill, our roles were reversed, and I made sure to pray the rosary and bless her with holy water each night. On the morning of October 27th, she held on long enough for me to bless her before she passed away.

Helen leaves behind a legacy of kindness, altruism, and compassion. She has been there for many of us during our times of trouble, listening to our complaints, often about rather trivial matters. When any of us asked my Mom for help, we could always count on her to try to help us out any way she could. She loved all of us immensely.

My dear Mom, our hearts are heavy with grief today, and we miss you tremendously. But we know that you are always with your family and friends in spirit, and that you will continue to bless us from your new home in Heaven. Thank you for your endless love and incredible devotion to us, and for all of the good times that we have shared. God bless you, Mom, and rest in peace. We love you.