Obituary of Helene Belobaba

Obituary It is with heartfelt sadness we announce that Helene Belobaba passed away peacefully on March 7, 2019 in Fort St. John Hospital at the age of 84. The family invites friends to a drop in memorial gathering at their residence 12318 Ferguson Street, Hudson’s Hope on Saturday, March 16th between noon and 3pm. Helene will be interned at Woodlawn Cemetery in Fort St. John at a later date. Helene was born Helene Marie Claire Annette Gendron to Alice Yvonne (Roy) and Ulrich Vincent Ernest Gendron on December 16, 1934 in Aylmer, Quebec. Helene is survived by Husband, Robert Belobaba; children Ken Jones (Sandra), Lynda Jones and Monique Jones; step children Drew Belobaba (Ileana Nguyen) and Kyla Belobaba (Craig Thomson); Grandchildren David Jones, Christopher Jones (Jaclyn), Courtney Jones and Kyle Jones (Brittany Toews); step grand children Graham Edgar and Matthew Edgar (Lori Vickers); and Great Grandchildren Rayne, Kai and Kayl Bahm; Nylah Jones; Jack, James and Joseph Belobaba and Connor Edgar. She was one of 17 children and is survived by siblings Rene, Maurice, Laurent, Jacqueline, Claire, Michel, Leo and Guy. Helene grew up and went to school in Aylmer, Quebec. She left Aylmer and moved to Penhold, Alberta to live with her brother Lucien (Curly) and his wife Mae. She worked at the cafeteria on the base and met Earle Leroy Burns Jones who was a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. They were married in Aylmer, Quebec and then moved with the Armed Forces living mostly in the Maritimes but also Ontario, France, Belgium and Germany. Helene and Earle welcomed their first child, Kenneth on October 28, 1957 in Trenton, Ontario; their second, Lynda on September 3, 1961 in Berwick, Nova Scotia and Monique on May 20, 1969 in Goose Bay, Labrador. Earle retired from the Air Force and the family settled on a farm in Nictaux Falls, Nova Scotia in 1974. Helene stayed at home with the children, making butter and baking up a storm as she continued to do throughout her life. She eventually worked at Berwick Manor, a long term care facility. In 1976 Helene and the children moved to Kingston, Nova Scotia. She went back to school and she worked at the hospital and on the base. In 1978 they moved to the Okanagan, settling in Kelowna. She worked at Sunrype until an injury forced her to retire early in March, 1986. She met Robert Belobaba in 1994 and they were married on December 24, 1996. They lived in Oliver, BC and their retirement years were busy with hunting, fishing, building two new homes and spending a lot of time with their family. They moved from Oliver to the Peace River settling in Hudson’s Hope in 2006. Their grandson Kyle lived with them from 2010 until his graduation and Helene was “Grandma” to all of his friends as well. Helene was known by all for her cooking, canning, baking (especially butter tarts and pies), sewing, knitting, gardening and occasionally beating Bob at Crib. She was an amazing woman who even last fall was baking buns and bread and making cement planter boxes. While in the hospital she mended the ladybug quilt as the eye was falling off and it drove her crazy. She worked harder and accomplished more in one day than most people did in a week. Helene was also known for her spirited personality and “the look” – those who knew her well know what we are talking about! Helene, Mom, Grandma, Grandmama will be sadly missed by all who knew her. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory to the Fort St John Palliative Care Society. Services