Helen May (nee Armstrong) Wells

May 1, 1927 - August 17, 2018
One day, Helen Wells pondered thoughtfully in her kitchen with a mildly troubled look. A visiting friend asked if she was alright. "I am worried about the hereafter," she replied with a faint smile. "What do you mean?" her friend asked. "I came into the kitchen but I can't remember what I'm here after," she quipped. They both laughed. It was typical Helen, setting up a joke with well-timed perfection, exemplifying the constant quest for levity that was one of her enduring and endearing trademarks. Another was her absolute inability to be anything but kind, or to utter a bad word about anybody. Helen had a way about her that was as beautiful as it was natural.

She was born to Wilbur and Lavina Armstrong in Red Deer on May 1, 1927. When she lost her mother at age three, she went to live in Calgary with her Uncle and Aunt, Dr. Balfour and Mrs. Jean Armstrong. She attended St. Hilda's School for Girls where she acquired impeccable manners and deportment, yet retained her born humility and warmth for everyone she met. Raised in the home of a prominent physician, she was shielded from the depression that savaged much of the nation, but tearfully watched her older brothers, Donald and Morris, depart for uncertainty and peril in Europe in the years that followed, and rejoiced upon their return.

After the war she was introduced to a handsome young hockey player from Red Deer named Robert Hugh (Bud) Wells and was swept away by his gentlemanly manner. They married the following year and soon welcomed the arrival of daughter Kerin, followed by sons Bruce and Don. She later worked in the ladies wear department of the Hudson Bay in Red Deer. Her co-workers included female school mates of Don's who frequently told him of their fondness for Helen, and how they loved to go for coffee with her in the Bay's cafeteria.

On holidays the family was drawn westward on camping trips, often to Radium Hot Springs, whose mineral pool sensations Helen described as "heavenly," or to the west coast, which she loved for its moist air, greenery and flowers. Her father's land holdings included a quarter-section near Rocky Mountain House and a settler's cabin which she and Bud restored after an act of vandalism. The cabin and nearby banks of the Clearwater River became their weekend sanctuary.

Upon the death of Helen's father, she and Bud moved to his cattle farm north of Caroline. Shortly thereafter they started Bud's Farm Supply in Rocky Mountain House which they ran successfully until Bud's health could no longer withstand its demands. In the interim they became fast friends with their book-keeper, Pauline Morrison and her husband Brian, who were drawn to Bud and Helen's humble and humorous manner. After the sale of the business, they spent more happy years on their rural property where they quietly observed wildlife that was increasingly accustomed to their gentle presence.

After lung disease took Bud in 1996, Helen sold their home and moved to Waskasoo Estates within close proximity of her friend, Dorothy McInnes, with whom she had worked at The Bay and who had also been widowed. She was able to travel to Asia and Australia with Dorothy, and to Toronto, New York and the Maritimes with Don and his wife Kim, with whom she enjoyed a particularly close relationship.

In 2003 she bought a new condo and furniture and was excited and optimistic after seven years on her own. Just weeks later, she suffered the cruelest of blows in the form of a debilitating stroke from which she did not recover and was forced into long-term care. She languished for 15 years, although her worst nightmare was eased somewhat by the care and attention of Kerin, Bruce and granddaughter, Janet, and by regular visits by other grandchildren, great-grandchildren and son-in-law Doug. Their constant companionship enabled her to salvage some of life's fundamental joys, but she faded slowly to the point of being mercifully unable to comprehend Bruce's death in 2014.

Helen completed her journey in the loving presence of her two surviving children. With her long-awaited celestial ascent, there is new light and laughter in the prairie skies, where in the imaginations of those who loved her, she is reunited with Bud and Bruce, and is again on her feet, walking softly among angels.

A celebration of Helen's life will be held on Saturday, October 6th, at 2 pm at Gaetz Memorial United Church. In lieu of flowers, Helen would be grateful for donations to the SPCA.