Obituary

“I had a great life and a lot of fun.” Helene Couture of Fergus passed away April 17, 2025 after a short courageous battle with cancer in her 71st year. Born in St Catharines on Friday August 13, 1954. Wife of William Couture who was also born on Friday the 13th. Mother of Jodi and mother-in-law of James of Hamilton. Predeceased by her father Walter Friske (1990), and mother Jocelyn Friske (2001) of St Catharines. Sister of Beverly O’Connell and Laura Macdonald (Gordon) of St Catharines, Larry Friske (Virginia) of Effingham, Ronnie Friske (Estelle) of Stevensville, Jim White of Windsor, and Cheryl Albrook (Len) of St Catharines. Sister-in-law of Curtis Candler (Alexis) of St. Catharines. Aunt to Tara (Randy), Melissa (Doug), Alexander, Cory, and Eric. Great aunt to Avery, Adam, Dylan and Aliya. She loved her cat Benedict, and her favourite dog Billie Jean. Helene was an ambitious, smart, hardworking woman who started her career in the textile industry in her 20s. She then took a position at the first stand up bar in Ontario, which allowed her to put her husband through Teacher’s College. In 1978, Bill and Helene moved to the Center Wellington area for Bill’s first teaching position. Helene quickly became the top salesperson at “Ellen’s Fashion,” and moved on to become a buyer, attending clothing fairs in Toronto and Montreal. After having many successful years as owner of the store, she moved on to TG Minto to become a Quality Engineer at Toyota Cambridge. Management recognized her talents communicating with people and in negotiations. She led Toyota World for years as the top Quality Engineer with the lowest number of defects in the business. Helene retired in 2015, at which time her and Bill travelled every year to Europe and the Caribbean searching for the perfect beach. She will be remembered by family and friends as a brilliant and generous chef and host. She landscaped beautiful gardens at her home in Fergus, loved to dance, and was always the life of the party. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society: https://cancer.ca/en