SHERWOOD, Helen (neé Meihm)

Serene and gentle, generous and kind, passed away on June 28th at the age of 90. Mourning her unexpected death, her children Mary Sherwood (Bruce Locis), Melanie Sherwood (Mark Kammerer), Suzanne Sherwood (Warren Williams), Vanda (Allan) Thebarge and Craig Sherwood (Erica Scime), are thankful that she was happy and independent until the end. Helen was the centre of her family; her home was the social gathering place for us all, especially for her grandchildren: Victoria (Andrew Shields), Ethan, and Zoe Locis; Marion, Edgar, Roland and Adelaide Sherwood; Madeline and Thomas Thebarge; Clark and Graham Williams; Ellery and Emma Sherwood, and her great-grandchild Colby Shields.
 
Born in Guelph, Helen loved her home city and its surroundings all her life – in particular Fergus, Elora, Belfountain, and Erin. She went to school at Loretto Academy. After working for a time at Bell Canada and Canada Revenue Agency, Helen married Edgar (‘Ed’) Sherwood, and the two of them built a home and a life in Eramosa, where they raised their five children.
 
After Ed’s premature death, she moved back to Guelph, supporting her teenage and young adult children as they finished their schooling and went out into the world to find their own careers and ways through life. But she was always there for us, offering a home base for family abroad, helping with grandchildren, and sharing her treasure trove of knowledge. She taught us manners by example, calmness and strength in adversity, patience with, and tolerance for, individual idiosyncrasies, and set an example of independence and endurance.
 
Helen had varied interests: she was a connoisseur of crime novels and an avid gardener who never went a year without her own fresh tomatoes; she challenged herself with quizzes and puzzles, watching Jeopardy (and knowing the answers), and doing a daily morning-coffee crossword; she loved tennis, playing as a teen at the courts on Dublin Street, and well into her 70s at Cutten Fields, where she also developed an interest in golf and spent her Tuesday mornings playing bridge. She was a supportive fan at many a grandchild’s baseball or soccer game. She loved drawing and painting, admired the skill of her sister Anna and daughter Mary, and in later years filled countless colouring books. She loved the dance and movie music of her youth. She relished a good restaurant meal with friends and family, a glass of wine, and shopping for home décor and clothing – her son, sons-in-law and grandsons appreciated her infallible taste in shirts and ties. She also enjoyed the company of dogs, whether her own or her visitors’.
 
Her sisters Loretta Arbaugh of Louisiana, Anna Lopes of Toronto and her brother Ken (‘Dodie’) of Guelph, and many nieces and nephews, will also miss her very much. Helen is predeceased by her parents Angus and Eva (Selena) Meihm, loving husband Ed Sherwood, granddaughter Samantha Williams, eldest brother Bernard (‘Bernie’) Meihm, and closest friends Mary Ingram and Rita Knowles.
 
COVID protocols still exist, and a private family grave-side ceremony will take place on July 9, 2021. Although Helen loved flowers, in lieu, please consider donating to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society or charity of your choice. Arrangements entrusted to the WALL-CUSTANCE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL 519-822-0051 / www.wallcustance.com.