Helen Munro

Helen Munro

     Helen Munro passed away on March 28th, 2020 at the Portage & District General Hospital, at the age of 89.  In accordance with her wishes cremation has taken place and a private family committal will follow at Westbourne Cemetery at a later date. There will be no formal service.

     Helen was born in Teulon, Manitoba, on the family farm, on February 9th, 1931.  She was the fifth of seven children born to Frances and Michael Benn.  She attended school in Teulon. Although often helping out on the farm, her Dad was an avid believer in education and that always came first.  Helen flourished at school and skipped two grades graduating high school at age 16.

     She always wanted to be a teacher and, as they were in short supply at that time, she started teaching school near Teulon “on permit” at 17.  At age 18 she attended formal teacher’s training, then called “Normal School” in Winnipeg finishing there at age 19 with her first “official” teaching position at Amaranth, MB, later teaching in Westbourne and Portage la Prairie.  She had always dreamed of attending university and to that end, spent may summers taking courses at summer school and a few winter Saturday courses and eventually received her university degree from the University of Manitoba.  She often stated, “A good education isn’t hard to carry around”!

     While teaching in Amaranth, in 1952, she met her future husband, Vince Munro, the “bubble gum man”!  They were married on July 11th, 1953 and began their life-long dedication to each other.  She continued teaching until December 1969.  At that time the family businesses had grown to the size where they required a full-time bookkeeper and, due to the difficulty keeping one in the small hamlet of Westbourne, she took a bookkeeping course and started her new career as office manager for Munro Farm Supplies Ltd. and Munro Farms Ltd. until her retirement in 1994.  During that time, she also served on the board of the Portage la Prairie School Division.

     Helen was predeceased by her husband Vince, her parents Frances and Michael Benn, an infant son Garth, her brothers; John, Walter and Merlin Benn, sisters (and brothers-in-law) Tilley (Steven) Dychuck, Mary (Peter) Kwasny, and Bernice (Gunther) Olers, brothers/sisters-in-law Garnet and Jean Munro, Dawson and Jean Munro, and Ron and Jean Chandler.  She is survived by her son Glenn and daughter-in-law Kate (Portage la Prairie), grandchildren Brittany (Victoria, BC) and Derek Munro (Calgary, AB), sister-in-law Ruth Benn (Teulon, MB) and numerous nieces and nephews.

     If friends so desire donations in Helen’s memory may be made to Sunset Palliative Care Inc., Box 92, Portage la Prairie, R1N 3A7 or the Portage & District General Hospital Foundation, 524 – 5th St. SE, Portage la Prairie, MB  R1N 3A8 or the charity of their choice.

     The family would sincerely like to thank the caring staff at Portage General Hospital, Emergency, Extended Care and Medical wards for their care of Mom and the family support they provided. 

Messages of condolences can be made online at www.omegafuneralhome.com

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