Helena is the Goodwill Ambassador of the Fergus Retirement Home. She loves to spend her days helping others where she can. You can find her helping in the kitchen, helping with laundry and helping her fellow residents when they need it. That is just the kind-hearted person she is.

Born and raised in Iroquois Falls, Ontario, a small papermill town, she has led a full and interesting life. She met her husband and left the small town she knew so well in 1975. The couple moved to Kirkland Lake and then to Timmins. Eventually, they found their way to Guelph until her husband passed away in 2015.

I had my PSW certification so I looked after him when he was sick," she recalls. "It was difficult but I had to help him."

Later in life, Helena found a second career in the special events market working out of Wal Mart in Guelph promoting food and other products to the public. She enjoyed the challenge. She also volunteered with the Red Cross providing basic care and housekeeping to the infirmed. After retiring from events management, Helena began to experience blackouts and was prone to falling so she went to a retirement home in Guelph. She wasn't happy with how the home was being run so she came to Fergus Retirement Home almost two years ago.

Helena has one son and three grandchildren in Cambridge. She enjoys having visits with them every other week. And when she's not helping out in the home, she enjoys quiet time reading.

"This place is heaven," she says. The staff take great care of me and I love having my independence. Helping out where I can in the home keeps me out of trouble too."