Bidding Farewell to Helen Nogatch

Mom, Grandma, Friend, Teacher, Artist, Community Member, World Traveller

Editor's Note: Helen Ana Nogatch was born in 1937 and lived in Lions Bay for more than 50 years, until her death July 20. She will be remembered by her friends and neighbours for her kindness, generosity and keen sense of humour. Always an adventurer, she was one of the first readers of The Watershed. The following memories were penned by her children.

Helen was inquisitive, intelligent, adventurous, artistic, friendly and wise. Born on the Lower East Side of New York City to John and Anna Nogatch, it’s worth noting that when she was born, her mother was 46 and lived in an infirmary, sick with tuberculosis. Due to this challenging start, Helen spent her first year in a foundling hospital and then went to two different foster homes until her father finally gained custody when she was around five years old, moving in with him, her much older brother and an uncle on Avenue C near Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. She dearly loved her mother and father who were immigrants from Ukraine, calling them Momma and Poppa.

While she had a challenging start, she found her place as an art teacher in the New York City Public School system in the early 1960’s and flourished there. Helen loved the vibrant and artistic lifestyle of the East Village and after traveling across Europe and America by motorcycle with her husband, Richard Rubin, she had her first child, Vigeland (Vig), in April 1967. Feeling Manhattan wasn’t the place to raise a family, they traveled to Mexico and settled near Lake Chapala for a couple of years where she painted, ate fresh mangoes and had her second child, Hidalgo, in October 1969. From there, more adventure called and they moved to Canada, packing up all their belongings in an old blue pick-up truck and settling in Vancouver, B.C. in the early 1970’s. In 1971, Helen made the joyous choice to adopt her daughter, Joyita, and then gave birth to her third son, Julien, in July 1973. The family moved to the new village of Lions Bay in 1974 where she lived the rest of her life in a west coast home she helped design.

Devoting herself to her kids throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, Helen helped her youngest through childhood leukemia, was active in the Lions Bay community (helping design the school and acting as one of the first PAC advisors) and made jewelry and ski racks with her husband which they sold at craft fairs. Helen returned to teaching in the 1980’s, first as a substitute teacher and then as a full-time English teacher at her beloved David Thompson Secondary School in Vancouver.

Helen lived a well-rounded life. An exceptional visual artist, Helen painted beautiful landscapes and flowers, created stunning Japanese torn paper art and took unique photographs which she often made into cards. She also wrote travel journals, a mystery novel (she adored mysteries) and reflections for her book club. Helen was passionate about gardening and for years volunteered at Van Dusen Garden and kept a stunning westcoast garden at her home. Always active and socially conscious, Helen did tai chi, participated in fundraising runs (including the Larry Young Run and the Sun Run) and volunteered for meals on wheels, giving back to the community. Helen relished the theatre and took her children and grandchildren to countless plays, operas and musicals. For decades, she held season’s tickets to Bard on the Beach, the Arts Club and Vancouver Opera which she attended with her numerous theatre buddies. Throughout her life, she constantly pursued adventure, traveling the world including to Antarctica, Africa, the Andes (hiked the Inca trail in her 60’s), Spain (walked the Camino trail), Egypt, Russia, Madagascar, the Galapagos Islands, England, Greece, Italy, Australia and Japan (to name a few). In her 70’s, Helen joined a seniors’ hiking club, exploring the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. Gregarious, Helen had a vast range of friends of many ages and loved to chat, share her insights and history and learn from them. This openness and curiosity kept her “hip” and relatable as she traveled the world; people often commented about how young and energetic she was.

Helen loved her wonderful Lions Bay neighbours, her book club crew, her Tai Chi group, her theatre friends, her DT students and colleagues, her countless friends, the community of Lions Bay and most of all her children (Vig, Hidalgo, Joyita and husband Mike, Julien and wife Izumi) and grandchildren (Landon, Bea, Kol, Tait, Audrey). She was a loving mother and grandmother with a strong focus on positive thinking.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the accessible services department at the West Vancouver Memorial library (604-925-7437 or accessible@west-vanlibrary.ca) As Helen’s eyesight deteriorated, she benefited from the audio books and ongoing support of the librarians in this department. In her final days at Vancouver General Hospital, Helen found comfort listening to the audio books her librarian sent her.

Helen was a dynamo of energy with numerous friends and a broad appreciation of world cultures, travel, art, music and literature. She was well-read, politically informed and had an artist’s touch and an intellectual’s knowledge. For a little girl who grew up with modest means in Alphabet City in lower Manhattan to learn to be so adaptable and open to the world around her attests to Helen’s strength of character, inquisitive nature and immense love of life. She lived a full life, was loved by many and will be dearly missed. Fly high and face your fears - that’s what she always wanted for all of us.

Have memories of Helen to share? The Watershed welcomes your thoughts. Leave your comments below, or email us at editor@lionsbaywatershed.ca 

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