1940 – 2018

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Helen Ryde on June 13, 2018, formerly of Chase, B.C. She leaves behind her loving husband Robert (Bob) Ryde, daughters, Kim (Jack) Neufeld, Lee (Jerry) Neufeld, Wendy (Jeff) Lewis, 2 granddaughters, Katie and Sylvia, 2 grandsons, Jesse and Adam (Kelly) as well as 6 great grandchildren, Charlotte, Sydney, Sianna, Brooklynn, Cooper and Greyson, and sister; Anne Wheatley of Ontario.

Predeceased by parents, Helena (1978) and Daniel (1987), daughter Susan (2016) (Vince) D’Agostino and brothers Dan (2017) (Darlene) Komar & William (1938).

Helen was born March 13, 1940 in Natal-Michele, a small community outside of Fernie BC. Later her family relocated to Creston BC. where Helen grew up with her younger brother and older sister on the family’s fruit and berry farm. In the 1950’s, she met Bob Ryde, originally from Cranbrook BC. and they married November 09, 1957. Helen was a stay at home mom raising 4 daughters until the girls started school. They lived for a short time in Victoria BC. and moved back to Creston, then Raymond, AB, and Fort Langley, before finally settling in Aldergrove, BC. in 1975 where Helen worked for the city of Langley. With a talent for gardening, she worked making Langley beautiful. Her favourite part of the job was taking care of a small park, Sendall Gardens, which was often used for wedding photographs and picnics. Once she and Bob retired they purchased a house on Deka Lake and spent several wonderful years there. She often caught the biggest fish of the day, and enjoyed being on the water. Helen had a great talent for cooking and shared her secrets and recipes with all who asked. She was known for her apple buns and kulbasa, which she and Bob made together. Helen was able to take any leftover and make it taste like a gourmet meal. She made delicious soup from a pile of bones. No one ever left the Ryde house hungry, she made sure of that. Helen’s talents were not only gardening and cooking, she did beautiful embroidery. She could make an embroidered rose on a piece fabric look as real as if it was just picked from the garden. She learned from her parents how to turn unusable clothing and rags into beautiful woven rag rugs, which she and Bob worked on together—the original recyclers.

We will miss her smile, quick wit and charm. She will remain in our hearts forever. The family would like to thank the professionals at RIH for their care of Helen.

A Celebration of Life will take place 3:00 pm on Sunday July 29, 2018 at St. Andrews on the Square. In lieu of flowers, donations in Helen’s memory can be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

Condolences may be expressed at www.myalternatives.ca

• Date : 2018-06-13
• Location : Kamloops, B.C.