Helen Louise MacNeil
Date de décès : 1er septembre 2017
Helen Louise MacNeil, 94, of Sydney passed away on September 1, 2017 at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital following a brief illness.
Helen was a graduate of Holy Angels Convent and the Nova Scotia Normal College in Truro. She continued her formal education at Dalhousie University in Halifax and Xavier College in Sydney. Helen was a past member of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union and most recently the Sydney and area branch of the Retired Teachers Association. She began her 40-year teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse in Portage where she taught grades one to eight. Helen continued her career as a teacher in the communities of Bras d’Or, Sydney Mines, Mira Road and Grand Lake Road prior to retiring from St. Joseph’s Elementary in Sydney. She maintained a keen interest in the teaching profession and the changes that had occurred over the years.
Helen had a large circle of acquaintances and some very close friends that included extended family, bridge club members, and special neighbours “on the hill”. She deeply appreciated the continued caring and kindness shown to her by family and friends especially in her later years.
Helen is survived by sisters, Gloria MacDonald (Gerald), Sydney, Amilda MacKinnon Kelly, Sydney, and brother, Michael Lachowiez (Diane) of Sydney and Mineville. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews with whom she maintained close relationships.
Helen was predeceased by her parents Michael and Annie (MacKinnon) Lachowiez, and husband, Alex MacNeil (formerly of Bras d’Or). She was also predeceased by her sister, Gladys, and brothers, Frederick, Frank and Robert.
At Helen’s request there will be no visitation. A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Marguerite Bourgeois Church, 40 Cabot St., Sydney at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, September 6. Father Bill Burke will preside over the service. A reception will follow. Following the Funeral Mass, the family will attend the committal service at Resurrection Cemetery in Sydney Forks. Helen will be laid to rest next to her husband Alex who predeceased her in 1976.
Donations in Helen’s memory may be made to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital or a charity of choice.
Words of comfort may be sent to Helen’s family by visiting www.twcurry.com.
