BISTOLARIDES, Helen - (May 1, 1927 – November 30, 2020)
Helen was a devoted and loving wife to the late Konstantinos Bistolarides, a loving mother to her children Peter (Peggy) and Christine (Theodore) and a proud and loving grandmother to six young men: Deno, Kiriakos, John (Maria), James (Amanda), Paul and George.
She was also a proud great-grandmother to Peter, Vera, and Zara Bistolarides.
Helen’s story began in the village of Kaminia, Greece where she survived losing her father at the age of eleven and living through the privations of the Second World War. She grew up with her brothers Ken, George, Louis and John Kiriakopoulos. As her brother John wrote, “ she entered the hard struggle of life and became our second mother alongside of our late mother and helped raise five children who were between the ages of 5 and 12 amidst the cry of war, poverty, and misery. You were for all of us... not just our sister, but our second mother as well."
Sponsored by an uncle, Helen, along with her siblings, arrived in Canada in the early 1950’s, and a few short years later, married. Helen worked tirelessly alongside her husband, Konstantinos for many years. They owned and operated the New Plaza Restaurant and together worked for and raised their family.
She took great pains in teaching Peter and Christine how to read, speak and write Greek and made sure that they were brought up with the guidance of the Orthodox Church and deep faith in God. Her pride and joy was her family. She instilled in her children a love of learning and a strong work ethic. She adored her grandsons and delighted in seeing pictures and videos of her great-grandchildren.
Though Peter and Christine were her children, Helen was actually the mother of thousands of “babies” through the years. She was an excellent gardener and took great pains and pride in her vegetables, flowers and plants. She would often give advice to friends and family, ending later in a sort of competition between herself and her brothers over whose garden was more prolific. She would often ask any relatives visiting Greece to make sure and bring her back seeds for various vegetables. Even a few short months ago, Helen was harvesting the last of her crop and filling up her freezer.
Her abscence on this earth will be felt by many many people, not only her huge family of neices, nephews and sisters-in law in Hamilton, and by neices and nephews in the U.S. and Greece, but by all who knew her. She was an inspiration even at the age of 93, people marvelled at her sharpness of mind, her wit, and her strength.
She fell asleep after four days in the hospital, unaware that the fatigue she had been feeling for the past few months was an advancing illness. Helen was not one to complain, and even at the end, she would say “Don’t worry, I’m okay."
Helen is with Konstantinos now, helping to plant gardens in paradise. May we gain strength and inspiration from having known her. May her memory be eternal.
Arrangements with Jerrett funeral home, Scarborough Chapel.
**Please be advised that due to the City of Toronto being in "lockdown," Helen's visitation and funeral service will be by invitation only. The funeral service may be live streamed on Friday, December 11th at 12:00 pm at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/user/GOMetropolisToronto
In memory of Helen, donations to Scarborough General Hospital - Palliative Care Unit would be appreciated by the family.
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