Helene Regina Hubbard

The world lost another angel as Helene joined her husband Floyd and stepson Richard on April 17th, 2023.

Helene was born on December 12th, 1945 in Fort William, Ontario to Madeline and Frank Winters. She had a hard younger life. As an infant she lost an older brother due to poisoning and another as a still born. These tragedies would send her mother into depression which resulted in Helene and her older brother John, to help manage and bring up the other younger children in their dirt floor cabin. Food was scarce, abuse was present both physical and mental but Helene adapted to make the best of things.

At the age of 17 she was married and starting a life of her own. She had three sons, David, Robert and Andrew.

Living in Thunderbay, Calgary and Nanaimo before returning to Thunderbay.

Helene was suffering. She was in and out of psychiatric hospitals during the boys’ younger years. The doctors had no real answers for her condition but we now know and recognize this as PTSD.

The medication the doctors prescribed did little to ease her struggles so she turned to alcohol.

But her coping mechanism reared its ugly head and Helene’s life was about to spiral out of control.

She was divorced and would loose custody of her beloved children.

She was forced to go to an AA meeting which started her on her sobriety journey of 47 years. Helene would become a councillor at a Women’s Half Way House and sponsored and supported many, many people in their recovery. This experience, as well as her Catholic religion, allowed her to forgive and love the people in her life that had misused her.

AA also brought her Floyd. They met at a meeting in 1976 and got married on February 14th, 1979.

To Helene, family was everything and with Floyd she gained 7 more children!

They enjoyed fishing and travelling but then near tragedy struck and Helene’s strength would be tested again. Floyd fell ill and had to have open heart surgery in 1983. Thankfully he survived the surgery but unknowingly became a victim of the Red Cross tainted blood scandal.

Several years passed and Floyd retired as he just never seemed to bounce back well from his surgery.

The winters were long and cold and Helene missed her kids. So, they moved from Thunderbay to Nanaimo.

Helene and Floyd wasted no time making friends, both in and out of AA. They bought a boat and enjoyed their fishing and camping.

They would fix up places thinking that this was the one place they wanted but then they would eventually sell them. I told her she owed me an address book as they had moved a total of 8 times in Nanaimo!

It was when they were living in Cassidy that they discovered why Floyd was still feeling tired and lacked energy. He had contracted Hepatitis C from the tainted blood.

Well say no more, Helene became Floyd’s number one advocate. Springing into action, she launched a Hepatitis C group to help support and educated people, held television interviews and was in several newspaper articles. She wanted the word out there!! She became a voice for the innocent people that had received tainted blood through the Red Cross but were now too weak to speak up or had died from the disease.

Thankfully Floyd tried interferon, a new treatment (at the time) for Hep C and it helped him. They were able to resume having a life again.

And have a life they did.

They would get in their motorhome packed to the rafters with Helene craft supplies and hit the road.

They would leave in October heading East to Thunderbay and then touring down to Florida visiting family and friends before making their way to Arizona.

For many years they would stay in Loughlin where Helene learned all sorts of new craft designs (more stuff they would have to bring home). They would go up to Vegas or down to Mexico wherever and whenever they pleased – they were enjoying the life.

Travelling long distances would come to end for Helene and Floyd when in 2004 Helene became very ill with what was later diagnosed as Addison’s disease (adrenal gland insufficiency). They reflected on their life and realized how fortunate they had been to be able o travel and see the things they saw and the experiences they had.

So, with Helene’s health issues and Floyd getting on in years, they decided to stay closer to home.

Helene loved her family – they were everything to her. Birthdays, Easters, Christmas and other special occasions she would host, organize or help in anyway she could.

With her grandchildren she enjoyed baking, making gingerbread houses, teaching them crafts and a little bit of biblical influences too. She took them places and attended many events they were in. She was so very proud of all them!

Helene’s health was never easy in her adult life and now there was this new challenge. She was on several medications and was reduced to using a wheelchair for quite a time. In 2010 they bought a new house in Nanaimo in preparation for possible care aids to help her and Floyd in future years.

Our family lost Floyd in February 12th, 2014 – two days before their 35th anniversary. Helene handled Floyd’s passing by amercing herself into family, friends and AA.

She would go to several meetings a week, as well as host a ladies’ meeting over at her house.

As she managed to get her health back on track, travelling would once more be on her agenda, going on several cruises and trips with good friends over several years.

However, signs of Dementia started and eventually led her to having to reside in a Care Home Facility for two and a half years, where she passed away from the disease.

Left to mourn her loss are her remaining siblings Mary and brother Donald as well as her children; David(Kelly) Tyler and Morgan; Rob, Riley and Gabby; Andrew, Andy and Todd; Stepchildren, Mendy (Paul); Wanda (Seppo); Valerie (Bruce)Amanda, Rebecca and Angela; Teresa, Steven, Michael and Katey; Roger (Debbie) Roger Jr, Richard and Kalia; Roy(Margie), Tiffany and William as well as many great grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends.