January 15, 1954 – June 23, 2011
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2
Surrounded by her loving family, as she would have desired it, with a mixture of joy and sorrow we announce that Anne Helmus very peacefully went home to live eternally with her Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. After a valiant five-year struggle with cancer, Anne finally succumbed on June 23, but we believe that she is now rejoicing and dancing in heaven. She will be greatly missed by Bill, her loving husband for nearly 33 years, and their four children: Diana and David Reitsma (and much adored Nana to Marshall, Adam, and Kyle), Sean and Anita, Jonathan and Paola, and Ryan. Predeceased by her parents, Willem and Johanna Bakker (Strathroy, Ontario), she will be fondly remembered by her six brothers: Bert (deceased on May 20, 2011) and Ellen of Strathroy, Ontario; Harry and Betty of Bradenton, Florida; Bernie and Irene of Whitby, Ontario; Paul and Lory of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Ralph and Diane of Palmerston, Ontario; and Wilmar and Melinda of Listowel, Ontario. Many other members of her large extended family will miss her dearly as well. After meeting while teaching at Calgary Christian School, with Anne teaching Grade 5, Anne and Bill were married in Calgary, Alberta in 1978, where their first three children (Diana, Sean, Jonathan) were born. From 1983-1985 they lived in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea, where their youngest son, Ryan, was born, while they served with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Upon returning to Canada, they lived in Bowmanville, Ontario for eleven years. Anne spent some years at home raising the children, and also taught in local public elementary schools for several years, the final three years in Grade 1, while Bill served as principal of Knox Christian School. The family moved to Victoria in 1997 when Bill took up the position as principal of Pacific Christian Elementary School. Anne taught various elementary grades in the Saanich School District, with her final few years at Saanichton and KELSET elementary schools. Anne was always dedicated first and foremost to her Lord and to her family, but she was also very passionate about her teaching, deeply caring for every single student. She loved teaching! Anne was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in September 2006, just weeks after she and Bill returned from a wonderful 5-week missions trip, serving in rural Christian schools in Zambia, Africa. Although she suffered long and endured much, she never complained, but accepted and took in stride all of these significant changes to her personal goals and plans. Her desire was to honour God in every aspect of her life. “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.” That is exactly what Anne has done! She was greatly loved and will be deeply missed by all who knew her and were impacted by her life.
Heartfelt thanks to Dr. Patti Olsen for her genuine love and care, and to Dr. Jorg Michels and many other caring and competent physicians, nurses and other staff at the Victoria Cancer Clinic, plus Royal Jubilee and Victoria General Hospitals. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Cancer Society, or to your favourite charity.
Everyone is invited to a special service to celebrate Anne’s life at GLAD TIDINGS PENTECOSTAL CHURCH on Wednesday, June 29 at 3:00 pm. A private graveside service will be held earlier at Royal Oak Burial Park. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mccallbros.com.
39 Responses
Bill
You are in our prayers and may our Gracious Father ,give you the courage and strength to know that Anne is safe in his arms. May God bless and keep you.
Bill
We send our heartfelt condolences to you and the rest of the family during this time of mourning. Even if we are separated by oceans, we at Siabalumbi and Namwianga in Africa, are united in the loss of the great and exemplary Christian woman Anne was. The Siabalumbi brothers and sisters had a memorial service for Anne on Sunday. They displayed all of Anne’s beautiful pictures that she left over here. Surely we shall miss her deeply. May God comfort you and your family.
Bill
We have been so amazed by the strength Anne has shown throughout these years of her battling with cancer. Her faith was unshakeable and she was a great role model. She has made a lasting impression on all our family. We had the opportunity to have many discussions with her as Sarah was going through her class in Saanichton. Her openness and caring attitude always made us feel welcome to share thoughts and ideas. Anne always knew how to put things into perspective and what was really important.
Our prayers are for you and your family at this time. May the love of Christ surround you and give you peace.
Sam and Jackie Buston
Dear Bill and Family, Anne was my teaching partner at Cordova Bay for 6 months in 2004. You are so right-Anne loved teaching! But mostly, she loved her family. I too have four children and we shared many laughs and stories of the busy-ness of a rich and full life with our ‘kids’. Her commitment and love of you all was foremost. Bill, you may remember you and I met when Anne was in the Jubilee emergency a couple of weeks ago. I saw a loving husband who gave his wife support to be courageous and to not fear the future. That’s unconditional love. As I said in a card to you before, love never dies. I will remember Anne always.
Sincerely, Susan Campbell
Dear Bill and Family,
We send our sympathy to you all from all of our family at your time of loss. It is not possible to fully understand so we will not say that we do.
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Our peace in His will
And even among these rocks
Sister, mother
And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea
Suffer me not to be separated
And let my cry come unto Thee.
T.S. Eliot, Ash Wednesday VI
May God uphold you all.
Dear Bill and family,
The courage and faith Anne demonstrated during her long sickness has been an inspiration to us. Our heartfelt prayers and sympathy.
Cancer is so limited
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot conquer the spirit
It cannot steal eternal life.
By Anonymous
Our sincere condolences.
Margaret and John Liira
Dear Bill and Family,
May you all feel the love and comfort that only the Lord can give, and the heartfelt prayers of the people who have loved you all so much.
I will thank the Lord for all the great memories I have of all of you, here in Bowmanville.
With sincere condolences,
Gail de Vries
Dear Bill and family,
We lift up the family in prayer at this most difficult time, knowing that He comforts those who mourn. Anne’s testimony was clear and we know that she planted seeds of faith in all aspects her life, We were privileged to first meet Anne when she taught our son’s grade 1 class at Cordova Bay Elementary School. Our sincere condolences to the family at this time. Paula, Paul and family
We are so sorry to hear of Anne’s passing. We just want Bill and the entire family to know that they are in our thoughts and prayers in this most difficult time. Our deepest sympathy,
Peter and June Zwier
Bowmanville, Ontarios
We lift you and your family in prayer at this sad time of loss. How wonderful to hear “I can only Imagine” and picture your wife rejoicing and pain free in the presence of Christ. May this reality bring you comfort.
With love and blessing,
the Reaume family