Helen Blackstock
February 15, 2025
In Loving Memory
Helen Blackstock
Born to Annie and Michael Popovich on April 13, 1937, in Prince Rupert BC, Helen Blackstock entered the world with her blazing red hair, loving heart and determined spirit that shaped her 87 years of celebrating family, friends, the land and all that lived on it. She grew up with her beloved sisters Jean and Edith and brother Lawrence along the side of the railway tracks at Copper, BC. Fiercely independent and proud from the beginning, Helen and her siblings got into all kinds of fun mischief when they were not working hard to help the family keep a roof over their heads. Helen later moved to Smithers to be near her sister Edith and to spend time with her much loved nieces and nephews: Ken, Don, Ray, Judy, Chris, Barbara and Larry. Helen worked at a bakery and later as a BC Tel switchboard operator in Smithers where she met her husband Del. Helen passed along her work ethic, determination and loving spirit to her three children, Michael, Cindy and Sheila and honourary son, Joey. From picking huckleberries and pinecones as young children to the mandatory get a job when you are 16, Helen wanted all three of her kids to be good people, hard workers and get a good education. She was a strict and loving parent who tossed the strict part to the wayside when her four grandsons, Michael, Scott, David and Matthew arrived. When she was not working at the Prince George Hospital switchboard, she loved spending time with them fishing, baking bread, camping and crafting. Her happy place was in her garden surrounded by family, friends and dogs at her home in Prince George where she lived the last forty years of her life. Helen was a social person who could often be found shopping with the late Thelma Blackstock, having coffee at Arnolds with Janet and tea with Brenda every Wednesday at 10:30. Helen passed away peacefully, under her own terms on February 15, 2025, surrounded by her family and her beloved dog Mia. Helen’s life was a blessing and a triumph, and the family wishes to thank the many who loved her, learned from her and were inspired by her. Special thanks to Dr. Farren, Dr. Bourdeau, nurses Shelby, Ashley, Morgan and Sheena and the entire team at hospice. In lieu of flower, acts of kindness and donations to the Marjorie Willoughby Hospice House in Kamloops, the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, First Nations Health Foundation, Blue Ecology Institute Foundation or the SPCA are appreciated.
Arrangements entrusted to
Cypress Funeral & Cremation Services 250-554-2324
Condolences may be expressed to the family by phone or email through Cypress Funeral & Cremation Services:
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Comments: 8
Dear Cindy
My Deepest Condolences
Although her physical body is not here, she is with Creator and she will always be with you when you need her.
Holding you and everyone else who loved her in the Light.
May the best of everything she was live on in her biological and spiritual descendants.
Sending our sympathies and prayers for comfort and strength <3 I can only imagine the reunion in Heaven, the smiles, the hugs - sending love from our family
Aunt Helen you will be missed. I loved our visits and calls. Always a great meal and goodies to go home with. She had a great sense of humor. She had a beautiful home and we remember arriving and seeing her up on the ladder painting the living room and she was getting up there in age. Her big garden in the back yard was beautiful. RIP and big hugs to the family and Mia. Love Catherine and Len ❤️ 🙏 🤲
Dear Sheila, Cindy and Mike. We are so sorry to hear about the passing of your Mom and our beloved Aunt Helen. What a wonderful spirit she had. Always welcoming you into her lovely home. Don has many fond memories of his visits to Prince George. She loved her nieces and nephews always showing interest in their lives, through letters and later emails. Helen was full of life, she had a great sense of humour and visits to the house were filled with conversations and reminiscing of days gone by. Not to mention there was always a hearty meal and abundance of fresh food from her immense garden. She had a great memory and much of what I learned about the Zibrik family was from Helen. May she rest in peace, gone but never forgotten. Her spirit will always live on. Love Jennifer and Don
Helen was such a significant presence in my life, and I will forever remember the visits with her and the family. Helen wasn’t just an Aunt; she was like a second mother to me, second grandmohter to Alanna and Justin.
Her door was always open, and every time we walked through it, we felt embraced as part of her extended family.
I remember the kindness, the cookies, the garden, the dogs, the immaculate house ( that never seemed to need cleaning), the infectious smile and the quiet chuckle. You are missed.
We will miss her voice, her humor, and the invaluable advice she always gave so generously. I’ll especially miss the occasional “Oh, Chris,” accompanied by the shaking of her head whenever my choices were questionable — those moments will stay with me always.
Helen was one of the most talented women I’ve ever known. I often described her to others in this way: if Helen were to knit you a sweater, she wouldn’t just knit it for you. She would have raised the sheep, sheared, carded, dyed the wool, and only then would she have crafted you a beautiful sweater. That’s the kind of woman she was — thoughtful, skilled, and devoted to everything she did.
I can hope she is now having a grand time, drinking coffee with my mom (Edith), Lawrence, Ken, and Judy, all of them reunited and sharing stories.
You have my deepest condolences, and I am holding you all in my thoughts during this difficult time.
With all my Love, Christina
Dear Cindy, please accept my condolences on the loss of your beloved mother, Helen. I hope you find comfort in knowing that her legacy – the meaningful values of kindness, caring for others, determination and dedication to causes well beyond the self – lives on in you. The love and support of your mother leaves its own mark, one that you live day by day. May your cherished memories of your mom bring you contentment today and always. Thinking of you, Julia
So sorry for you loss. My heart goes out to Mike, Cindy & Sheila in there time of sorrows.