HELENA BEATRIZ RIGATTO

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HELENA BEATRIZ RIGATTO 1940 - 2009 I pray that I, all foliage gone, may shoot into my joy. W.B. Yeats, 1938 Peacefully at home, surrounded by family, after a long and brave battle with cancer. Hers was a story of love. Teacher and traveller, wife and mother, grandmother and friend, she loved greatly and unconditionally, enriching all lives she touched. Born December 21, 1940, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, second oldest of six siblings, she trained as a teacher to help support her family through tough times. She married her great love, Henrique, in 1964. They brought their young family to California in 1967, and later after a brief period back in Brazil, to Winnipeg in 1972. A teacher by vocation and not merely training, she completed her B.Ed. in 1987 and over many years taught at John M. King, Pinkham, Laura Secord Schools and finally Champlain before retiring in 2002. A lover of literature, she was fluent in three languages and loved works in all those languages, but most especially the poetry of Yeats, a love she shared with her children. Kind, generous, serene and wise, she shared her many gifts with family and with countless friends all over the world. She will be sadly missed by her husband Henrique (Quico), her children Claudio (Lisa), Elisabete (Rhyl), Ana (Allan), her grandchildren (Nicolas, Alexander, Reid, Cristina, Benjamin, and Massimo); her siblings Rosa Gabriella (Ilo), Maria de Lourdes, Marco Antonio (Jeanete), Maria Regina (Fernando) and Vera Lucia; her sister-in-law and dear friend Helena Kauer (Alfredo); and her countless friends who kept vigil with her family. Helena and her family would like to thank St. Boniface General Hospital and CancerCare Manitoba staff. Special thanks to the nurses and aides on 3B, Dr. Robert Lotocki and Darlene Roberge, Drs. Nene Rush, Martina Reslerova, Ross McMahon, Paul Daeninck, and Marcelo Garcia. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to Ovarian Cancer Canada [www.ovariancanada.org or Ovarian Cancer Canada (OCC), 101-145 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario M5A 1E3 Canada toll free 1.877.413.7970]. Funeral service will be held on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. at Chapel Lawn Funeral Home, 4000 Portage Ave. Chapel Lawn 885-9715

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 14, 2009