When I think of late White Rock councillor Helen Fathers, who left us on Feb. 7, the word champion comes to mind.
Among other entries for it in The Cambridge English Dictionary, champion is listed as a “Northern English informal” adjective, meaning “excellent.”
It seems apt. Helen strove for excellence in anything she set her hand to, and she would have been the first to agree she was also pretty much a ‘Northern English informal’ herself.
The Nottingham-born community activist was, of course, a true champion in another sense – “a person who enthusiastically supports, defends, or fights for a person, belief, right, or principle.”
She was that pretty much until the day she died, tragically young, from complications from a lengthy battle with pancreatitis, leaving her husband Rob, daughter Ellie, mother Margaret, and her father and other relatives in England.
I first met her some 30 years ago, shortly after she arrived in Canada, when she came to the Peace Arch News offices as the publicist and manager for a talented group of young Peninsula musicians who had chosen the name Cozy Bones.
The group are fondly remembered as a local legend now, but I think it fair to say they never received as much publicity before – or after – Helen was associated with them. There simply was no other choice but to give them the careful listen she insisted on and they – as it turned out – deserved.
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It wasn’t just the persistence and energy she threw into the task – Helen came armed with a twinkle in her eye, a disarming grin and an infectious laugh.
She was, in short, good company – possessed of a sharp sense of humour and a pithy turn of phrase redolent of her native isle.
I was delighted when she joined the staff of the old Johnston Road Earl’s. Whenever I, along with our late friend Scott Wheeler and his coterie of theatre people, dined there, as often as not she was our server.
No booth, I recall, received more attentive service – Helen was a kindred spirit and happily indulged the floating party of ‘artsy’ types who routinely descended on the premises.
As people from the same corner of the world, we formed an instant bond, but I soon observed that she had the knack of ‘getting on’ with people from all backgrounds and walks of life – sports, arts, business, agriculture, you name it.
When she became an assistant to the manager of the White Rock Farmers Market I – and by extension the PAN – became just as Market-aware as I had been Cozy Bones-aware.
The passion and sense of ownership she invested in the project made her a logical choice to become manager herself, and she presided over the market with pride and attention to detail. She was ever-present each Sunday, stopping and personally greeting friends, acquaintances and newcomers alike.
Wherever she went, Helen seemed to know everyone, and everyone seemed to know her. And even if she were busy, I don’t ever recall seeing anyone being brushed-off or ignored by her.
Many in the community can attest to her caring, wise counsel and countless gestures of thoughtfulness. When our daughter was seeking funding for post-secondary education, for instance, it was Helen who reminded us that the Farmer’s Market had a scholarship and urged her to apply (and beamed with pride when she was later judged one of the successful applicants).
When Helen asked me what I thought about her taking a run at a council seat, I unhesitatingly encouraged her – such a people-person in office, I felt, could only be an asset to the community. I imagine there were many others she consulted, but she had a way of making each of us feel that our individual opinions were valued and would be carefully weighed.
The shock wave that was felt through the community at the news of her passing is directly attributable to the fact that most of us considered her a friend – and were treated by her as such – no matter how frequently or infrequently we were in contact.
Not that Helen suffered fools gladly. She wasn’t afraid to be blunt, or to call things as she saw them. Differences were inevitable, though, in private, some weighed heavily on her. But she, at least, seemed to take the time to listen to every viewpoint and carefully consider them.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons she consistently topped the polls in civic elections. And I believe Helen did White Rock – the citizens who voted for her, and even those who didn’t – proud.
Alex Browne is a reporter with the Peace Arch News.