Helga Doris Thomas
October 14th, 2020
Helga (Oma) grew up in Rosenort, Germany with her parents Ferdinand and Lydia, and three sisters (Ruth, Lena, and Traute ) on a homestead owned by her family for 500 years. Towards the end of the war, the family fled to West Germany leaving Lydia behind, where she died in the hospital. At the age of 13, Helga was faced with incredible loss. She and her family worked hard to rebuild their lives. Helga’s father remarried to Edith and gave her two sisters, Marianne and Regina. Ferdinand had a dream to come to Canada and initiated the process for Helga by replying to a notice from Joachim (Opa), who was in search of a wife. Joachim chose Helga out of 200 replies and after 1 year of correspondence with Helga, he arranged for her trip to Canada. She arrived in Regina to meet Joachim in the cold of winter and they were married on December 28, 1955.
They made their home in Regina with their two daughters Barbara and Monika. She loved her role as a mother and homemaker. Her family and friends were very fortunate to be treated to her wonderful baking: cheesecake, orange chiffon cake, Pflaumen Kuchen to mention a few. Helga was a social butterfly who had a genuine interest in everyone she met. She loved telling stories and brought laughter to a room. She had magic hands and loved mending, knitting, and gardening.
She found the greatest joy being a mother to Barbara and Monika, grandmother to Matthew (Tiffany), Michael (Bry), and Liam, and ultimately being a great-grandmother to Alexis and Baylee.
After retirement Oma and Opa vacationed at many places with Hawaii being their favourite. With the passing of Opa, Helga was able to live independently in her home with the support of neighbours and family. Her daily routine involved recording the weather and listening to talk radio to keep on top of the latest news. She looked forward to her monthly luncheons with the bereavement group.
Oma can be best described as having a huge enthusiasm for life. She had a sharp mind and even as frailty set in at the end of life, she continued to have hope and never passed up an opportunity to experience and learn something “new”.
Her presence will be missed.
Private family interment in Riverside Memorial Park, Regina, SK.
Messages:
So sorry to hear of your mom's passing. She sounds like a wonderful mother. Louise talked highly of her. You were a good daughter to her and she must of been so proud of you.
We were just informed today of the passing of a wonderful friend and a beautiful person. we have been friends for over 60 years . we will dearly miss her. Please except our sincere condolences for your loss.