Helen Kaczanowski

Helen Kaczanowski, 91, of Barrie, Ontario passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at Hospice Simcoe, with family present.

Helen was born on October 1, 1928 in Podgorodno, Poland, the same town in which her mother Veronika Wysocka was born. Her father, Piotr Mazejko, was a school Principal. He was deported to Siberia when Helen was a child, where he died without seeing his family again. Their village was bombed during the war, so Helen’s education finished around grade four. She spent her teenage years hauling gravel and helping lay railroad ties in a German labour camp. This would help to account for her tough, determined, and resilient character.

After the war, Helen was the first of her family to leave for Canada, restarting a beautiful life at age 18. She married Walter Kaczanowski in Larder Lake, Ontario in 1949; shortly after, they moved to Barrie, Ontario where they built their first home. Helen is survived by her sister Nellie Jusenchuck, son George Kaczanowski, and daughter Nena LaMarre (John LaMarre). She is also survived by five grandchildren: Janice LaMarre (James Damascus), Rebecca LaMarre, Peter LaMarre, Rachel Allister (Allister George) and Julia Whitten. Much to her delight, Helen lived to see three great-grandchildren born: Roland Damascus, Helen Damascus, her namesake, and Frances Whitten-George. She was predeceased by her husband Walter Kaczanowski in 2002.

Helen brought fun, humour and beauty to every area of life, and was a homemaker like none other. She kept an immense garden, preserved everything, and was a fabulous cook. Her passion was art, music, and crafts. She loved to paint; oil, water colors, pastels and drawings, she did it all. Helen was known as ‘Grandma’ to all of Nena’s piano students, and faithfully attended every recital and all of their Barrie Music Festival classes. One year she knit mittens for every single student in the studio. She would sell smocked dresses and knitted products at the Barrie Farmer’s Market throughout the year. She was a fierce competitor in the local Barrie Fair, entering her produce from the garden, baked goods and crafts. She loved to dance and sing. She was truly capable of anything she put her hand to. She was small but mighty.

Helen doted on her beloved grandchildren and had “Spaghetti Club” every Tuesday evening at her house for all five of them. She was famous for her bunny shaped birthday cakes that were at every birthday party without fail. She sewed clothes for the grandchildren and taught those interested to sew as well. She also sewed everything for the home, from blinds and draperies to reupholstering furniture. She knit, crocheted and embroidered. She was a creative whirlwind.

When Helen had open heart surgery in her eighties to replace a defective valve with an artificial one, she was the star of the ward. Up and about after a few days, she cheered up all the other patients, especially the men, who were moaning and complaining about how much the same operation hurt. She won the admiration of the entire staff for her humour, for her laughter, for her jokes and stories and for her incredible frankness. “Didn’t it hurt?” she was asked. “Of course” she said, “but it was nothing compared to Germany”.
The world will be a little dimmer now. Helen was one of the best friends you could ever have. She was a remarkable wife, mother and grandmother. She had a real zest for life.

The family will forever remember the compassion, warmth and care of Dr. Michelle VanWalraven, a woman who has a heart for palliative medicine. She made it possible for Helen to live her life in comfort at home for the last two years, and to die in peace at Hospice Simcoe.

A ‘Walk of Life’ was held in Helen’s honour at Hospice Simcoe on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. The interment took place at the Union Cemetery on Maundy Thursday, April 9, 2020; she was compassionately cared for by her pastor, Matthew Ruttan, to the very end. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Hospice Simcoe,
www.hospicesimcoe.ca