Louise Helene Pyke

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Louise Helene Pyke (nee Cormier) at St. Vincent’s Nursing Home in Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 26, 2020, after a short illness. Helene was born on July 5, 1930 in Moncton, New Brunswick, and was the fifth of ten children born to the late Adislas and Lina Cormier.

Helene moved to Halifax in the mid 1950’s, where she met and fell in love with our father, William H. Pyke (Bill). They were married in Moncton in 1956 and settled in Halifax to raise their family. Helene was long-time, faithful member of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Halifax. She worked for over 20 years at the Sears Bargain Centre.

Helene will be forever missed by seven children: Donna Goguen (John), Cynthia Pyke (Larry Williams), Katherine Grandy (George), Gary Pyke, Ann Blanco Reyes (Camilo), Joan Craig (Ron) and Janet Pyke. She is survived by her cherished grandchildren: Marc (Allison), Joel (Becky) and Jon Goguen; Jacob (Keat) and Emily Oakley; Samuel and Benjamin Grandy; Kyra and Kylo Craig and Tomas Blanco Reyes; and three treasured great-grandchildren: Dalton Oakley, Melanie Oakley, and Augustus Goguen. In addition, she is survived by her brother, Omer Cormier (Georgina) in Moncton and her sister Pauline Laverdure (late Denis) in Montreal, as well as sisters-in-law Geraldine and Ann, and many nieces and nephews across Canada.

Helene was predeceased by her loving husband of 50 years, Bill, in 2006, and by her brothers Harvey, Eric (late Mary), Arthur, and Jean-Paul, and her sisters Elva Bourgeois (late Emile), Huberte Trudel (late Rene), Jeanette Belliveau (late Donald).

Our Mom was an avid Bingo player and enjoyed outings to the Casino with our Dad and her best friend, the late June Sampson. Mom and June took many Bingo excursions to the US and on one of those trips became a contestant on The Price is Right and made it to the final Showcase. In her later years, Mom loved to do her scratch tickets. She was always lucky and seemed to carry a horseshoe wrapped in four leaf clovers with her at all times! She had an intense love for a Tim Horton’s French Vanilla with a Boston Cream donut. Mom enjoyed sports and loved watching her teams play on TV- including the Toronto Blue Jays, New England Patriots, and of course, Montreal Canadien’s (go Habs!). She also loved to watch curling. Above all else, our mother loved her children and raised us to value family connections. Mom embraced many of her children’s friends as her own “adopted” children and it frequently seemed as though she and Dad had far more than seven kids!

The Pyke family would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and give thanks to the wonderful and caring staff at St. Vincent’s Nursing Home, 3rd floor, where Mom resided for the past 22 months. We would especially like to thank Shelley for being there for Mom, at her time of passing, when we could not be.

In light of the current Covid-19 Pandemic, there will be no service or visitation at this time. Arrangements are in the professional care of JA Snow Funeral Home, 339 Lacewood Drive, Halifax. A memorial mass will be held at St Theresa’s Church to celebrate Helene’s life, at a later date.

Our family would appreciate donations to the Alzheimer Society of Canada in her memory. Please take a moment and say a prayer for our Mother.