Obituary of Helen Virginia Burgess

Helen passed away on Wednesday December 30, 2020 at Evergreen Home for Special Care in Kentville. Born in Sandy Cove, Digby County, on August 7, 1926 she was a daughter of the late Floyd and Margaret (Holmes) Jeffrey. She came from a large family with four brothers and three sisters. Helen graduated from the Provincial Normal College (predecessor to the Nova Scotia Teachers College) in 1949. She taught in Brooklyn (Queens County), Sandy Cove, and finally in Hantsport where she met her future husband, Raymond Burgess. They were married on October 8, 1960. She was a devoted wife to Raymond, and mother to Grant and Lois. She never complained about the work but always had wonderful meals prepared and the house was always spotless. She never complained either when her son and his friends had band practice in the basement at extreme volumes. Thanks Mom! Above all Helen loved her God. She was an active member of Hantsport Baptist Church for many decades. She was involved with the Sunday School as well as the various ladies groups. Her particular passion was missions and she was involved with the Women's Missionary Society (WMS) for many years, preparing programs for their meetings into her early nineties. She also had a lovely voice and loved to sing; especially the old hymns that she learned in childhood from her mother. She leaves behind her son, Grant (Nancy); granddaughter, Sarah, and her brother, George (Jean); as well as many nieces and nephews. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Raymond; daughter, Lois; brothers, Wendell, Fenwick and Phillip; and sisters, Florence, Rita and Amy. The family wishes to thank the staff at Evergreen Home for Special Care, where Helen had been living since October 2019, for their excellent and compassionate care. Arrangements for cremation have been entrusted to DeMont Family Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 419 Albert St., Windsor (902-798-8317). A private, invite only, service celebrating Helen’s life will be held Thursday, January 7 in Hantsport Baptist Church, Hantsport, Rev. Jennifer Riley officiating. A webcast of the service will be available on the funeral home website (please see below) starting at 1:55 p.m., January 7. Interment will follow in Riverbank Cemetery, Hantsport. Donations in memory of Helen may be made to Hantsport Baptist Church, PO Box 152, Hantsport, NS B0P 1P0. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family by visiting: www.demontfamilyfuneralhome.ca