Browse the obituary of residing in the province of Ontario for funeral details
Helen Burkholder Obituary
In Loving Memory of Helen Viola (Witmer) Burkholder – November 2, 1924 – February 16, 2025
In gratitude and grief we mourn the passing of Helen Viola (Witmer) Burkholder, who died peacefully at Radiant Care Tabor Manor, St. Catharines, Ontario, on February 16, 2025, at the age of 100. Helen was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and friend to many, a tireless volunteer in church and community, and a deeply committed Christian with a strong sense of call.
Helen was born November 2, 1924, on her family’s dairy farm in what is now Cambridge, Ontario. Always a high-achieving student, she also found joy in music and home crafts. She was nurtured in faith and baptized at the Hagey Mennonite Church. As a young adult she sang alto in a popular local sacred music quartet, Morning Star.
Helen obtained her nursing certification at St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener, and then went on to further studies at Goshen College in Indiana. After graduating with a B.A. degree, Helen served a three-year term with Mennonite Central Committee) training nurses at a government hospital in Nazareth, Ethiopia.
On her return to Canada, she lived in Toronto, working as a nurse and attending Danforth Mennonite Church. At church, she met Dr. Joseph Norman Burkholder, who was preparing for missionary service in Ethiopia. After a much-storied courtship by mail, Helen traveled to Ethiopia in time for their wedding on February 4, 1956.
Together, they served eleven years with the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions at a mission hospital in Deder, Ethiopia—including two separate years of home leave in Markham and Toronto, Ontario, respectively. In Deder, Helen worked as a nurse and a Bible teacher while caring for a growing family. From 1967 to 1970, the family lived in Gondar, northern Ethiopia, where Helen was a teacher and administrator at the small school for expatriate faculty of the public health college where Joe taught.
Upon return to Canada in 1970, the family lived in Lindsay, Ontario, for a year before moving to St. Catharines, following Joe’s career in public health. Helen continued to juggle family responsibilities alongside an active portfolio of community involvements: parental support for the children’s participation in Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship; hospitality for international students and refugees; community prayer and Bible study groups; the women’s auxiliary of Gideons International; a campaign for wholesome values in Ontario’s public school system; and Sunday school teaching at Fairview Mennonite Brethren Church.
In 1980, as the children were moving into post-secondary studies and careers, Joe and Helen moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Here, Helen and Joe continued to build relationships with international students and refugees through their Inter-Varsity connections. Helen also taught Sunday school at the local Mennonite Brethren Church. In 1988, when Joe was recruited back to his previous leadership position with Niagara Regional Health, Helen resumed many of her volunteer involvements at church and in the community. These continued well beyond Joe’s retirement in 1991. In 2002 the local paper ran a feature on her ten years as a volunteer visitor with Community Support Services. Then in 2013 at the age of 88 was recognized by the local MPP and the Ontario Minister of Community Services for 20 years of Volunteer Service.
A lifelong learner with a passion for new experiences, Helen loved to travel. As a single, she visited the Middle East and many parts of Ethiopia. As a mother, she patiently bore with her growing children on the vacations the family took in Ethiopia and Kenya; in Europe and the Middle East en route to and from Africa; and all-over North America until the children were older. Later, and into retirement, Helen was a willing adventurer with Joe on a tour through South America, four cruises to exotic places; and many long drives across the continent to Gideons conventions, always stopping to see family along the way. Long car trips were opportunities to read, sing, and listen to music.
In her late seventies, Helen took up oil painting and produced some twenty landscapes based on slides from Ethiopia. She also learned to refinish and upholster family heirloom furniture. In the field of cuisine, her default specialty was always Ethiopian injera and wat, but her “calcium bar” squares and peanut butter cookies were also highly valued.
Helen is predeceased by her loving husband Joseph Norman Burkholder, daughter Carol Fick and son-in-law William Fick. She is survived by her children: Byron Rempel-Burkholder (Melita), Sharon Peters (Doug), and Geoff Burkholder (Rhianon); her nine grandchildren and their significant others: Hannah Burkholder-Wenger and Joel Burkholder; Rachel Peters and Mark Peters; Sarah (Fick) Cain and Anthony Fick; and Carter Burkholder, Gareth Burkholder, and Emily Burkholder; and two great-grandchildren: Patrick Cain and Ruth Cain.
The family is grateful to Radiant Care Tabor Supportive Housing and Long-Term Care and to Hotel Dieu Shaver hospital for their exemplary care over the past months and years.
A celebration of Helen’s life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, February 24, at Tallman Funeral Homes, 3277 King Street, Vineland, ON L0R 2C0, with visitation one hour prior. A light lunch will follow the service, which will be livestreamed on Tallman Funeral Homes Facebook Page , recorded, and available for viewing at the Tallman Funeral Homes Facebook Page.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to:
Radiant Care Tabor Manor at
radiantcare.kindful.com/
or to
Mennonite Central Committee at
mcc.org/donate
To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Helen, please visit our Tree Store.
Read more
Support and Share
How did you know Helen Burkholder?
Family
Friend
Work
Other
Help others honor Helen’s memory
Share Obituary
November 2 1924
February 16 2025
Death notice for the town of: Vineland, Province: Ontario
death notice Helen Burkholder November 2 1924
February 16 2025
obituaries notice Helen Burkholder November 2 1924
February 16 2025
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Helen Burkholder November 2 1924
February 16 2025 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
