Obituary of Helen Stanley

STANLEY: Helen Irene Stanley (Morison) passed away peacefully with her family by her side at the Brandon Regional Health Centre on Sunday, March 3, 2019 at the age of 96 years. Helen was born on July13, 1922 in Bowden, Alberta to George Morison (Aberdeen, Scotland) and Nellie Diana Hamacher (Bright, Ontario). Helen grew up on various farms around Rivers and Brandon with her five siblings. She left home after completing Grade 8 and went on to work on various farms as well as waitressing at Trent's Bakery in Brandon, where she met her future husband. On October 15th, 1940 Helen married the love of her life, Percy Edward Stanley in Brandon, Manitoba. Later, they were blessed with three children, Edith, Nancy and Jim. Following a short move to Trail, British Columbia, most of her life was spent in and around Brandon on mixed farming operations in the Brandon Hills, Gorrie and finally Elton district where they operated a dairy until Percy's health forced them to move into Brandon. Whether on the farm or in town, Helen was hard working both inside the house and out. She loved being involved. She always found time to host family gatherings where she lovingly prepared meals and treats. Helen opened her house to everyone who came along. She was kind, loving and generous in her hospitality. When she moved into Brandon, Helen became involved in ten pin bowling both as a player and as part of the executive helping to organize the league and events. In 2003, Helen was inducted into the Manitoba Ten Pin Bowling Hall of Fame. She loved hosting garage sales and working in her big vegetable garden. She enjoyed sharing her produce with friends, family and the soup kitchen. She loved her flowers and often went with family to the Neepawa Lily Festival to purchase other varieties to add to her garden. Helen had many interesting pastimes. One was her massive collection of Royal Albert tea cups. She did not care what the pattern was, but enjoyed the hunt. She spent many summer days traveling with family to antique sales and flea markets around Manitoba. Her collection of over 800 tea cups was proudly displayed and used in her home. Another love of hers was quilting, which she did with the ladies community group from Elton named the Rugbyettes. She would meticulously cut out squares of fortrel material and lay patterns out on the floor before hand stitching them on the quilting frame. The group made quilts to sell and to donate to the Red Cross. Helen's children and many grandchildren were also recipients of these lovely handmade quilts. As the grandchildren have mentioned, Helen (Gramma) was the only person they knew who ironed her tea towels and typed out her cheques to pay for her bills. Helen is survived by her daughters, Edith (Norman Baker) and Nancy and daughter-in-law, Glenys Stanley. She is also survived by numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. Helen (Toots) was predeceased by all of her five siblings Margaret, Jean, Mae, Elizabeth and Lillian, her husband Percy Edward (Perc) in 1992, son James Edward (Jim) in 2017, son-in-law Lyle Baker in 2015, and great granddaughter, Kayla Maxon in 1998. Helen's family would like to thank the wonderful staff of Fairview Personal Care Home for all of their kindness and compassion shown to her during the last 7 years of her life. Helen's final resting place will be with her husband Percy and son James at Rosewood Cemetery, Brandon, Manitoba. A Celebration of Helen's life will be held at Brockie Donovan Chapel, 332-8th Street, Brandon, Manitoba on Saturday, July 13th at 1:00 pm. A time of fellowship will follow at Prairie Oasis Senior Centre, 241-8th Street, Brandon, Manitoba. Donations in memory of Helen may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation, 1379 Kenaston Blvd, Winnipeg, MB. R3P 2T5, The Canadian Red Cross, PO Box 2441, Station Main, Winnipeg, MB. R3C 9Z9, or to a charity of your choice