Helen Caroline Herrmann Clausen passed away on September 12, 2019. She was born on September the 24th, 1932, so she would have been 87 in 3 days. She was born on the farm in Sidmouth, BC in the log house built by her father. She lived there for 17 years with her parents, and seven brothers and sisters. She described her life as a quiet one on the farm, however she has recorded many stories of her childhood days in our family history books. Life was hard on the farm, but the family always had enough to eat and she had many fond memories of growing up there. Her chores included gathering eggs, feeding the chickens and milking their two cows. One of her stories was about playing along the Columbia River while tending the cows with her brothers and sisters Ruth, Charlie, Frieda and Bobby. They working their feet into the quicksand on the riverbank until the undertow began to suck them down. Then they would throw themselves onto their backs to pull themselves out. They never told their mother about this dangerous little game.
Mom met the love of her life my Dad, Tom, when she was 16 years old. She saw him standing at the side of the road to catch a bus into Revelstoke. She wrote in our history: “We each got a good look at one another and the next time I went to a dance I made sure we danced together and things evolved from there.” They were married in 1950 and lived 66 wonderful years together until Dad died in November 2016.
Our family moved to Burnaby in 1956 as Dad sought work on the waterfront in Vancouver. Mom and Dad moved to Langley in 1974 were they lived for about 38 years before eventually moving to Chilliwack in 2013. In 2016, Dad passed away so in 2018, Mom moved with Darlene and I to Coldstream, BC
Mom was very passionate about many things in her life, but her greatest pride, displayed throughout her life, was for her sons Dave and Myself, followed by her everlasting love, compassion and caring for her 3 grandchildren Chris, Tim, and Kevin, whom she adored, and affectionately called them her “Gremlins”. Having said this, her admiration and love did not stop here, for she often spoke with pride of her Sisters, Brothers and all of their wonderful children, of whom she was very proud of all of their accomplishments.
Mom always had a passion for working with children. In the 1960’s, Mom became a Cub Pack Leader, while Dave and I went through cubs. She remained a cub leader even after both of us graduated to Boy Scouts and eventually started her own group, developing the 1st Cub Scout Pack at the Grace Lutheran Church in Burnaby from 1970 through to 1974.
During this time Mom really self-educated herself, taking many night school courses while working during the days at a multitude of different jobs. Her grades for many of the accredited courses she enrolled in are reflective of her diligent work efforts, and how hard she applied herself, receiving marks of A’s and B’s. In 1972, she proudly became qualified as a Pre-school, and Day Care Teacher, and retired in 1982 from this profession. In her years as a pre-school teacher she estimated that she looked after over 1,000 children. I am sure her legacy lived on with many of the children she taught, as many of them are referenced in our family histories on their achievement’s in life from schooling to marriage to birth of their babies, and more.
Mom had many passions. She was an active volunteer in the community involved in such activities as Meals on Wheels, and served as a member of the Lady Lions in Langley during which she held the position of President of her chapter. She was remained an active member for 24 years.
She was a lifelong reader and has read literally thousands of books right up to the present. She would always have two or three books on the go on her side table. She averaged a book or two a week throughout her adult life.
Amongst her achievements, Mom was also quite an accomplished artist. Probably one of her most memorable works was the mural she painted on Uncle Bob’s out house at Glimpse Lake. There is an album on display of the vast majority of her paintings. Please take the time to browse through it, as according to her family history many of you were the recipients of these works of art.
She loved gardening and to this day her patio flourishes with many beautiful flowers.
Mom was also a poet. I never found out this side of her until I was going through some of her papers and personal effects. She wrote many poems, some of which are in her family history and we will display them on the tables for you to enjoy.
Mom is survived by her sons, Myself and my brother David, her daughter-in-law Darlene and grandsons Christopher (Chantel), Timothy and Kevin. Sister Frieda (Doug) Tremaine and brother Bob Herrmann. There are too many Nieces and Nephews to mention here, but you know who you are.
We would like to thank our mother, Helen for her diligence in compiling our family history. Without her many thousands of hours of work, we would not have been able to put together this glimpse into her life.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18