Helen "Ellen" Christine (née Dickie) Ryce

Helen passed peacefully during the night. Helen was a kind, patient, and thoughtful role model and our family was so blessed to have her in our lives.

Helen was born on February 11th, 1924 in the hamlet of Caiplie, in Fife, Scotland. She immigrated at the age of four to Ontario, Canada with her family; Father Alexander Nasmyth Dickie, Mother Nellie Dickie (née Hain), and brothers Alfred, Sandy, Alan, John, and Neil. She helped on their farm and had a selfless dedication to her family, choosing to stay and help at home instead of remaining in school when her mother fell ill. Later in life, she worked as a cashier at Loblaw’s and as an apartment manager with her husband in Stoney Creek, Ontario.

Helen was a skilled homemaker, with many talents in the upkeep of the home such as: cooking, fixing broken items, keeping records, and letter writing with her exceptionally beautiful penmanship. She was very fond of board and card games, often bringing them out for family gatherings. She kept traditional family recipes, of which she passed down to her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed and excelled at knitting, crochet lacework, and sewing. Even though she experienced deafness from a young age, she also very much enjoyed singing, playing the harmonica, and listening to traditional Scottish bagpipes, all of which she did right up until her passing. Helen also took much pride in her ancestry and homeland, teaching her children and grandchildren all about Scotland and their family tree, and always keeping in touch with relatives who still live in the UK now. Helen also had a fondness for nature and animals, especially the hummingbirds and deer that she could see from her apartment window.

Helen married Clarence Ryce on April 10th, 1948 and had a loving marriage up until his death in 1995. After his death, she moved from Kitchener, Ontario to Victoria, BC where she remained for the rest of her life. Helen was also predeceased by her parents, her brothers, and her son David. She is survived by her daughter Nancy, son Alexander-Alan, grandchildren Julie (Paulo), Dayne, Emily and Alyson (Travis), and great-grandchildren Mayson, Robyn, Lennon, and Logan.

We will miss her charm, her witty humour, her kind smile, and her warmth very much.

Cremation has taken place. Helen’s family will receive relatives and friends at Westmount Memorial Celebration Centre, 1001 Ottawa St. S., Kitchener, (519-743-8900) on Saturday, May 28, 2022, from 10:00 – 10:45 a.m., where the memorial service will be held in the chapel at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Woodland Cemetery.

As expressions of sympathy, memorial donations would be appreciated to Hope for Dementia, 2535 Guenette, Ville Saint-Laurent (Montreal), QC H4R 2E9, or to the Alzheimer Society of Waterloo Wellington, 831 Frederick St., Kitchener, ON N2B 2B4. Online condolences at www.westmountfuneralchapel.com

When Death's dark stream I ferry o'er,

A time that surely shall come;

In Heaven itself I'll ask no more

Than just a Highland welcome.

-Robert Burns