Mrs. Helen Christina Knott

After working with her mother in the dining room of “the hotel” Helen was the bursar at a private boys’ school in Toronto before she drove to B.C. to join her husband in his ventures. After they separated she joined B.C. Tel as an operator in Abbotsford. She then moved to Surrey where she boarded with mutual friends of Brian’s who introduced them on January 20, 1964. They courted while she served at the Rickshaw restaurant and helped manage a small dry cleaning plant. She worked in a meat market with Brian for a couple of years until Debbie was born in 1969. She glowed in pregnancy and became a full time wife and mother. Kelly was born at the end of 1971 while Brian was involved in building three buildings in Whalley. Helen stepped into the breach to assist Brian operating various ventures until they bought a small accounting franchise in 1977 and moved to North Vancouver in 1979. Helen worked with Brian in the office until IBS/Colitis was finally diagnosed. This gave her a rough time until summer 2003 and her colectomy. She embraced the changes in her routine and never looked back. That December when Debbie became a single mom Helen became caregiver to her two boys. She looked after the boys for about six years and relished every minute of it. She didn’t return to the office but kept the home fires burning. Her kitchen talents are remembered by all who were privileged to experience them. She loved to entertain and her family holiday meals are legend. The Christmas Eve gatherings were attended by as many as eighty or more as were the summer parties. After having trouble breathing for a time it was found, on August 18, 2014 she had a tumor in her left lung and blood clots in her right one. AS surgery and radiation were not an option, chemo was the only treatment possible. (Doctors estimated she had six months to two years to live). She chose to not go through that procedure for “just a few more months of life”. On April 26, 2018 we found out what was causing the pain in her right hip and thigh. The cancer had spread from her lung to the bones in her hip and a couple of spots on her liver. A heavy dose of morphine was prescribed till the pain subsided or she got dozy. On April 30 she was severely affected by the meds not metabolizing the drugs and she was over-dosed. As her condition improved she received radiation treatment on her hip and came home on May 16. She stayed at home till June 30 when she went to North Shore Hospice where she received excellent care until her death. She enjoyed her trips to Reno and Vegas and to visit her life-long friend, Marg, in Jamaica. She got to Italy with her friend Shirley and to Greece and Turkey with Kelly. Helen was an amazing woman and will be missed by all who knew her.