Helen WHITESIDE

So sorry to here about my beautiful friend Helen. We were best friends at school here in newtownards and shared many happy days together riding our bicycles over scrabo. Memories I will cherish forever.

Helen was a very important part of my life. We met in the late 70s at high school. A friendship turned into the first serious relationship of our young lives. I remember many good days spent together in Vancouver, San Francisco and Europe. She is forever in my heart and will be missed

I remember Helen from High School. We didn't know each other well,but what i do remember was her kindness.grace,intelligence and beauty.
It's truly my loss having not known her further.
My prayers go out to her family and those that were close to Helen.

My thoughts and condolences are with your family Helen. I have never forgotten that smile or laugh even after nearly 30 years...
you may be gone, but definately never forgotten.
God Bless You
Graham

I am so sorry for your loss and wish you peace and comfort at this difficult time. My memories of Helen lend a smile when I think of her sense of humor and infectious smile, she will be missed and always remembered.

My love goes out to your family and friends at this dificult time. Helen was a beautiful person, and now she is at peace in a pain free heaven. Blessings to you all

My love goes out to Helen"s family and loved ones. She was a precious person and now she is at peace and surrounded by love. We will miss her.

Sorry for your loss. Helen was a lovely person, and will be missed by all that knew her, every though I have not seen her for years, I have always considered her a close friend. Goodbye my friend.

On behalf of The Whiteside Family we can't thank you enough for all the kind words you have left about Helen. She was an amazing daughter, sister, aunt and friend and we are all better off for knowing her.

On November 5th we invite you to Celebrate Helen's Wonderful Life from 2pm to 4pm at Gleneagles Golf Course in the Larson Station Banquet Hall.

Look forward to seeing you then. Thank you again.

As asked by a few people the following was the Order of Service for the Private service Oct 27, 2011

Intro Music: Yes - 'Soon'

Order of Service:


Words of Introduction - Rev. Martin Baxter

Prayer - Rev. Martin Baxter

Words from the Family: Joseph Whiteside

A song: Peter Gabriel - 'Here Comes the Flood'

Words: From Friends: Sandy Orr

A Poem: Thomas Hardy: 'Regret Not Me' read by Bonnie Hay

Words and Thoughts: Rev. Martin Baxter

Closing Prayer and Benediction: Rev. Martin Baxter

Recessional Song: U2 - '40'

My deepest sympathies to the Whiteside Family. I have such fond memories of Helen as a teenager. She was such a beautiful and vibrant person. Best wishes to you all and stay strong. Lisa Valente (nee Rosebourne)

My condolences to the Whiteside family and friends. I knew Helen in highschool. As an outsider moving into a new community, it was very difficult but I remember Helen; she made an impact on my life. She was friendly and made me feel welcome. Special thoughts to Joseph - we spent a lot of time carpooling to school with my brother back then. Take care, Lisa Payne (nee Yuen)

I have known Helen through work for over the past 10 years. We shared a love of cats.We had many discussions and especially laughs over the naughty antics of Bart and then Cuthbert. I will miss the lovely Helen with the beautiful smile and quick wit. My heart goes out to her family. God bless you all.

Dearest Whiteside Family, I am so very sorry for your loss... I remember Helen as so very happy and full of life during our time at Sentinel High School.
Always laughing, always a friendly word of encouragement, or some wry comment to make you laugh and smile.
I did not know of Helen's illness and missed her smiling face at the last class reunion this past September 10th.
May god bless your family, and we will all see Helen again in heaven above.

It was heartbreaking to hear the sad news of Helen's passing.
Even thought it has been 30 years since I last saw Helen in highschool I will always remember her infectious laugh and cheerful smile and her love for Ireland. She was a wonderful classmate and I regret not seeing her since high school.
My condolences go out to the family.

Jeff Lea

Let Helen's name be ever the the household word it was,
let it be spoken with out effort, put no sorrow in your tone.
Death is nothing at all, it does not count,
She has only sliped into the next room.
She may be out of sight, but never out of mind.

My sincere condolences to the entire Whiteside Family,
I will miss her ...

Helen and I worked closely together some ten years ago in reorganising the banking arrangements of the BC SPCA across the province. In addition to being a great person to deal with, Helen was a remarkable and exceedingly professional banker. Due to her attitude and customer-oriented work ethhic, I was drawn to put more business through Scotiabank.
It was a pleasure to have worked with her. My condolences to her family on their loss.
Bill Avery, Furry Creek, BC

To May,Joe & all the Family,
'Holding your hand in Spirit'
Deborah & Max
Scotland

I worked with Helen for over 10 years at Scotiabank Vancouver. She was very smart, professional, dedicated to her customers, fiesty and she didn't suffer fools gladly! I have so many fond memories of Helen. She had such a passion for life, travel and of course her beloved Canucks and cat! I was shocked and devastated to hear of Helen's passing as I moved to Houston in 2006, but I'll never forget her vibrant personality and that beautiful smile. My deepest condolences to her family. She was a special girl and I'll never forget my fellow Brit and colleague. God bless Helen and family.

We are thinkig of the whole family at this very difficult time. Praying that you will feel God's love and strength. We have many fond memories of Helen.
Love,
Norma, Graham and Andrew

I met Helen through cancer treatment and an exercise clinical trial which started in May 2009. There, the bald, fatigued and nauseated found a sisterhood. I miss you Helen, my sister-in-arms, my friend.

Fond memories of Helen at Castle Gardens Primary School Newtownards.
So sorry to hear of your loss.

Deborah Gregory (nee Shirra ) NEWTOWNARDS N.I.

To May, Joe & our extended family in Canada. Love and peaceful thoughts sent to you all from Carolyn, Eugene and Halle.

Our deepest sympathy to all the family circle.
We were lucky to have spent time with Helen on her recent visit to Northern Ireland which we will remember.
In our thoughts and prayers
Love Lisa, Kev and Emily
Xx

My thoughts are with Helen's family and friends through this difficult time...
I''ll never forget you.Never forget watching you almost everyday on Skype,introdusing us to your new beautiful cat,beeing so happy and with that special smile every moment...You always gave us the idea that whenever we needed you ,you coul'd be with us and help us any time..As your favourite song, i really wish you were here with us....Thank you for beeind my mom's best friend and sharing special,funny moments with her that she still tell's us...Just a big thank you for all....You were such a fun person to be around with...Not many words to say...I love you and you are going to be with us by heart,always,everywhere....

''How I wish, how I wish you were here. ''
Andriana Karouzos

We will miss you dearly Helen (aka Helga). Thank you for your friendship and the great memories.

Love always,
Shelagh (aka Stella)

To the Whiteside Family, I would like to pass on my sincere condolences for your loss. Helen was a very special person and I will always remember the support and friendship she gave to me over the years.

I will always remember Helen climbing trees with my sister Catherine during one of her whistle-stop visits to Northern Ireland in the early 1980's. I always found her to be such good fun.
Sarah remembers her as the one who gave her chocolates last year at Hallowe'en. A nice way to be remembered I think.

Aunt May, Uncle Joe and Family,
I know how hard it is for you now. Be kind to both yourself and to each other.
We are thinking of you, here in Northern Ireland.

Elizabeth, Craig and Sarah Ingham

I will always remember Helen for one of the best Christmases I ever had back in the 80’s whenever she came to stay with us in Newtownards and for the kindness she showed me whenever I came to stay in Canada. Our thoughts are with you all.

Peter, Bridget and Sarah Kerr

My sincere condolences to the family. Helen was truly a genuine person and she will be missed. She made an impact on all those who worked with her.

Janine Harriman (Scotiabank)

Our love and prayers are with all the family circle and all Helens good friends. We are thankful for the time we had to spend with Helen recently when she visited Northern Ireland.

Love,
Emma, David, Rebecca and Matthew Logan xxx

'The Lord is my Shepherd'

My friend Helen, you will be missed. I will always have memories of our shared hockey games (and superstitions), and exchanging our heart to heart crazy cat stories (miss Moka cat will miss you too).

Your fight is truly an inspiration. You are one of the strongest people I had the pleasure of knowing. You will be missed but never forgotten.

Whiteside family: You are all wonderful and caring people, and my deepest condolences go out to you. No family should have to endure a loss as great as Helen. My thoughts are with you.

It is difficult because the sadness will always be there, but the pain will pass in time. Be proud that Helen was a brave, wonderful daughter / sister / aunt to you all. She will live on in your memories and hearts.

All my love,

I have a picture...You are in it..We are all smilling and look happy.You had this gift you see...You could make everyone around you smile and laugh.You were a truly special person and you will be deeply missed.I may not have spent as much time as I wanted with you,but I do know how funny,smart,loving,and caring you were.You touched so many peoples' lives.Thank you for being such an important person in my Mothers' life.Thank you for having ''Tums'' or ''Peptobismol'' for me.Thank you for not letting Bart scratch me whenever I was there.My sincere condolences to your family.I will miss you,Helen...

''Farewell to thee! but not farewell
To all my fondest thoughts of thee:
Within my heart they still shall dwell;
And they shall cheer and comfort me.
O, beautiful, and full of grace!
If thou hadst never met mine eye,
I had not dreamed a living face
Could fancied charms so far outvie.''

Even though our favourite players wildly diverged, we shared a strong interest in our Canucks. I will be thinking of you as I watch their future games -likely still hearing your pithy commentary too.
Missing you, valiant Helen,
Nancy xo

Joseph and family, I have fond memories of Helen from our years at Sentinel. Helen was warm, kind and caring. My thoughts are with you at this time.

A beautiful person who loved to laugh and share a good joke.My condolences to the family. Carmen Testani

I did not know Helen. But I know her parents and her siblings and my thoughts are with you all at this difficult time. I am so sorry for your loss and I offer my deepest sympathy.

My love goes out to the family during this very difficult time. We can all take comfort in the fact that Helen has made our lives richer and better. I'll miss you my dear, dear friend but will carry you with me always and forever.

I love you my dear sister

My sincere condolences to Helen's family, I can only imagine the depth of your sorrow, she was such a family oriented person with all of you in mind always - words cannot express.... but I will try..

I don’t remember how we happened to meet each other.
I don’t remember who got along with whom first.
I only remember all the good times and all the things we shared.

Thank you Helen, for being there for me and my family,
Thank you for putting up with me and understanding me,
I will never forget you.

I will miss you so, my Friend
Love Diane

Thank you for adding your message and thoughts. On behalf of the whole family we do appreciate your thoughts about our beautiful sister, aunt in-law, friend to many and our parents beloved youngest daughter.

We will add lots of photos to these pages in coming days.

Information on the "Celebration of Life" will be added in the coming days.

Thank you
and God Bless

On behalf of the entire Whiteside Family.