Helen Elizabeth Gordon

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our dear Mom, Helen Elizabeth Gordon (nee Hutchinson), at Little Mountain Place long-term care home in Vancouver, BC on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, with family by her side. A Celebration of Life will be held in Fort St. John, BC on September 16, 2025.

The oldest of three children, Helen was born March 1, 1923, to Elizabeth and Fred Hutchinson on their Greystone farm in Rocanville, SK. She outlived her younger brother, Gerald who was married to Anne Bock, and her younger sister, Anne, who was married to Bernie Mang.

Helen was a blue-eyed, ‘fiery’ redhead who loved being in nature with animals, especially horses and cats. Birds were also what she noticed and learned about throughout her life. She was lively and independent.

After graduating from high school, she became a primary grades teacher in 1943, in one-room schoolhouses on the Prairies. Helen introduced gymnastics into the curriculum and herself was very athletic. She excelled at any physical activity she pursed and in 1946 was the Senior Provincial Track & Field Champion in Saskatchewan. Teaching exercise became a mainstay throughout her life, offering adult classes in her community as well as being the Fitness Examiner for the Girl Guides and giving exercise breaks at Catholic Women’s League conventions. Helen was a Bonnie Pruden trained fitness instructor, travelling to take courses for her certification.

In 1952 Helen graduated as a Registered Nurse from the Regina Grey Nuns Hospital in Regina, Saskatchewan. She joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1954 as a medical nurse, soon becoming a Sub-Lieutenant, and was initially stationed on the HMSC Stadacona in Halifax, NS. When she left the Navy, she continued nursing as a career.

Helen met Raymond Howard Gordon (from Moosomin, SK) and married him in 1958. She continued working as a nurse in various hospitals while Ray worked on pipeline sites. They had 5 children (Marie, Mark, Jo-Ann, Gerard, and Barbara) all born in British Columbia. They moved to Fort St. John, BC in 1963 where Ray worked as a DC cat skinner building the W.A.C. Bennett Dam in Hudson Hope, BC.

In 1968 they moved to the countryside and built a home and small farm for their family. They mainly raised cattle, horses and various pets. Helen’s love for horses enticed her to take a Horse Husbandry and Equitation course in 1979. After that she raised Connemara ponies for harness racing.

Throughout her life Helen had been curious, always learning, and a voracious reader. She was a remarkable homemaker and deeply connected to family. She encouraged her children to expand their education and supported each of them to pursue individual endeavours as they ‘left the nest.’

Ray, her husband of 63 years, passed away in 2021. That same year Helen moved into Little Mountain Place long-term care home.

Helen is lovingly remembered by her children Marie (Jean), Antonio (Selena), Jo-Ann (Tony), Gerard (Karen), and Barbara and her grandchildren Colin, Graham, Jacob, and Ruby.

She lived a full life, marked by strength, and unlike any other. So dearly loved and so deeply missed, she leaves behind a legacy of kindness, grace, and resilience.

May her soul enjoy glory, and may her memory forever shine in the hearts of those who knew her.