Obituary for Mrs. Helen Eleanor Staats (Cote)
Helen Eleanor Staats
Helen Eleanor Staats (nee Cote), 61, joined her Lord and Saviour in Heaven on March 29, 2020, after a hard-fought battle with cancer at her home in Thunder Bay, Ontario. She was born on November 24, 1958 in Nipigon, Ontario to Bruce and Nora Cote.
Helen grew up in Nipigon, Ontario and was a proud member of the Red Rock Indian Band. She spent her life as homemaker, mother, and devout follower and witness for Jesus Christ. Anyone that knew Helen was greeted with a smile and home that made everyone feel like it was theirs. Affectionately called “Granny” by her friends and family,Helen was everyone’s mother, regardless of how you came into her life. She would do everything in her power to take care of you. She lived her life with a servant’s heart and refused to believe that anyone that visited her was neither thirsty nor hungry. Even as the pain overwhelmed her body, her first thoughts were of the people she loved, and who she knew loved her. Throughout her long, courageous battle with cancer, she demonstrated how to live and walk with unwavering faith in Jesus Christ.
Helen married her love, Robin Staats, in 2014 in Nipigon,Ontario. Their marriage was a true testament of the kind of love described by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Church in Corinth.
Helen enjoyed many different hobbies including visiting Christian meetings, travelling,picking up her guitar to sing her favourite gospel hymns, and searching for hidden treasures at antique stores and second-hand shops. However, her favourite thing in the world was making the people she was closest to smile.
Helen is survived by her husband Robin Staats of Nipigon,Ontario; her daughter, Mandy (Stephen) Price of Lake Helen,Ontario; sisters Betty (Les) Toth, Rose Cote, Geraldine (Edward) Cote, Theresa Cote, brother Terry (Betty) Bouchard all of Lake Helen, Ontario; sister Anne Legarde of Nipigon, Ontario; niece Carla Bairez-Perkles of Thunder Bay, Ontario and numerous other nieces, nephews, and other relatives.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents Bruce and Nora Cote, Stepmother Marjorie Cote, sisters Cathy Hardy, Shirley Lesperance and Caroline Nyman, brother Gerald Cote, niece Christina Perkles, nephew Carlos Bairez-Perkles, and her daughter’s father Anthony Perkles.
A Private graveside service will be held to limited family and friends due to the current restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic. A celebration of life will be held at a later date for all family and friends. In lieu of flowers Helen’s family request that friends so wishing make donations in her name to the Canadian Cancer Society or Daystar Ministries.
Helen’s family would like to extend a very special thanks to her nieces Carla Bairez-Perkles, Nancy, Lindsey and Keira McGuire, and special friends, Paula and Real Bouchard, Tamar Plummer and Doris K for all of their support throughout Helen’s battle. We are forever grateful for the love and support that you gave her, and we know the burden she bared was made lighter because of you all.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Everest Funeral Chapel, 299 Waverley Street, Thunder Bay.
Helen Eleanor Staats (nee Cote), 61, joined her Lord and Saviour in Heaven on March 29, 2020, after a hard-fought battle with cancer at her home in Thunder Bay, Ontario. She was born on November 24, 1958 in Nipigon, Ontario to Bruce and Nora Cote.
Helen grew up in Nipigon, Ontario and was a proud member of the Red Rock Indian Band. She spent her life as homemaker, mother, and devout follower and witness for Jesus Christ. Anyone that knew Helen was greeted with a smile and home that made everyone feel like it was theirs. Affectionately called “Granny” by her friends and family,Helen was everyone’s mother, regardless of how you came into her life. She would do everything in her power to take care of you. She lived her life with a servant’s heart and refused to believe that anyone that visited her was neither thirsty nor hungry. Even as the pain overwhelmed her body, her first thoughts were of the people she loved, and who she knew loved her. Throughout her long, courageous battle with cancer, she demonstrated how to live and walk with unwavering faith in Jesus Christ.
Helen married her love, Robin Staats, in 2014 in Nipigon,Ontario. Their marriage was a true testament of the kind of love described by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Church in Corinth.
Helen enjoyed many different hobbies including visiting Christian meetings, travelling,picking up her guitar to sing her favourite gospel hymns, and searching for hidden treasures at antique stores and second-hand shops. However, her favourite thing in the world was making the people she was closest to smile.
Helen is survived by her husband Robin Staats of Nipigon,Ontario; her daughter, Mandy (Stephen) Price of Lake Helen,Ontario; sisters Betty (Les) Toth, Rose Cote, Geraldine (Edward) Cote, Theresa Cote, brother Terry (Betty) Bouchard all of Lake Helen, Ontario; sister Anne Legarde of Nipigon, Ontario; niece Carla Bairez-Perkles of Thunder Bay, Ontario and numerous other nieces, nephews, and other relatives.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents Bruce and Nora Cote, Stepmother Marjorie Cote, sisters Cathy Hardy, Shirley Lesperance and Caroline Nyman, brother Gerald Cote, niece Christina Perkles, nephew Carlos Bairez-Perkles, and her daughter’s father Anthony Perkles.
A Private graveside service will be held to limited family and friends due to the current restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic. A celebration of life will be held at a later date for all family and friends. In lieu of flowers Helen’s family request that friends so wishing make donations in her name to the Canadian Cancer Society or Daystar Ministries.
Helen’s family would like to extend a very special thanks to her nieces Carla Bairez-Perkles, Nancy, Lindsey and Keira McGuire, and special friends, Paula and Real Bouchard, Tamar Plummer and Doris K for all of their support throughout Helen’s battle. We are forever grateful for the love and support that you gave her, and we know the burden she bared was made lighter because of you all.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Everest Funeral Chapel, 299 Waverley Street, Thunder Bay.