Obituary of Helen Nyaradi

NYARADI, Helen (nee Kovacs)
February 5, 1926 - Terpes, Hungary
January 22, 2022 - Calgary, Alberta

Helen Nyaradi passed away peacefully in Calgary, Alberta, on Saturday, January 22, 2022 just shy of her 96th birthday. 

She was born in 1926 in Terpes, Hungary. In 1931, she, her parents John and Gizella, and her sister Margaret moved to Canada and settled in East Coulee, Alberta. It was there that she met and married Balint (Bill) in 1942. Both Helen’s father and husband worked in the Atlas Coal Mine. In 1959, Helen and Bill moved their family to Calgary, where they lived in Ramsay. Helen worked as a server and host at the Calgary Golf and Country Club and at the Calgary Tower. In the summers, Helen and Bill would go on holidays to various lakes in BC with their children, grandchildren and extended family and friends. It was always a fun and memorable time. Helen enjoyed traveling with her family and was fortunate to visit many places in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and the South Pacific.  One special summer in the 1970s, Helen and Bill embarked on a tour of Western Europe in a Volkswagen van with their daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters, visiting several countries and family in Hungary. 

Helen was "Nanny" to her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandson. Family was everything to Nanny, and she was everything to her family. Soft-spoken and sweet, she had limitless love and patience. She had a special relationship with each of her family members – spanning five generations.  Nanny always had encouraging words, a purse full of mints and a way of making us all feel unconditionally loved. Family gatherings often revolved around food, and Nanny's bread, delicious cooking and hustle in the kitchen were mainstays of the meals. She grew beautiful gardens, both at the house in Ramsay and in the sandy soil at the family cabin in Windermere, BC. She crocheted slippers for all of her loved ones, and was a card shark – equally at solitaire and when she had someone to beat.  In all that she did, Nanny was relentless when there was a job to be done. She did not rest while others worked, but she did like to take a short break if it was time for the Young and the Restless.  

Steadfast and stoic, Nanny was a pillar of strength and grace for her entire life. Her family misses her deeply, but draws comfort from happy memories of the long and beautiful life she lived. Nanny is survived by her daughters, Isabelle Steward (Ken Munro), Helene (Don) Pearson, and Jackie Dunlop; her granddaughters, Susan (Don) Finley, Laura (Geoff) Whittaker, and Lianne Steward; her great- grandchildren, Lindsay Whittaker (Scott Hagen), Reilly Whittaker, Robyn Finley (Jake Plant), Stuart and Ryan Finley, Sydney and Brett Westenberg; and her great-great-grandson Rory Whittaker-Hagen. She was predeceased by her husband Bill, her sister Margaret, and her stepbrothers, Bill and Dan Szakacs.

Helen's family will hold a celebration of her life at a later date. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed here. If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the East Coulee School Museum, https://ecsmuseum.ca/790-2/ or   to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Alberta, 200, 119 – 14th Street N.W., Calgary, AB T2N 1Z6 Telephone: (403) 264-5549, www.heartandstroke.ca. The family would like to thank the staff and professionals for their care for Helen at Chartwell Harbours, Scenic Acres and Sage Hill Retirement Residences and finally at Bow Crest Long Term Care Center.

In living memory of Helen Nyaradi, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway.