Helen B. Roy

ESSEX JUNCTION – Helen Begin Roy, 103, of 18 Carmichael Street passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 24, 2020 in her home at Mansfield Place.

Born January 8, 1917 in St. Samuel-de-Gayhurst, PQ, Canada, she was the daughter of Pierre H. and Aurelie R. (LaPierre) Begin.

A hardy farm girl from the Eastern Townships of Quebec, she emigrated to the US at age 8 with her parents and 8 siblings settling on a farm on West Hill in Barre.

As a teen Helen nursed her dying mother through her battle with cancer in 1935, then supported herself as a waitress.

On January 4, 1941, she married William J. Roy, Sr. in Perkinsville, VT. Following their marriage, they made their home in Websterville before settling in Barre on Orange St.

Helen and Bill were blessed with one son William Jr. in 1945. Tragically Billy was killed in a work-related accident during a summer job while in college in 1966. Helen lost her dear husband Bill in 1998 after 57 years of marriage.

A strong, practical, charming and delightful Quebecoise woman, Helen was a loving wife and mother, a surrogate grandma to many, a cherished Aunt to her many nephews and nieces and a loving sister to her siblings.

In addition to her parents, her husband William Roy Sr. and her son William J. Roy, Jr., she was predeceased by her sisters Eliane LaFaille, Germaine Casavant, and Gabrielle Pruneau; as well as her brothers Antonio, Raoul, Alcide, Eugene and Armand.

She is survived by many nieces and nephews in Canada and the United States.

A Mass of Christian Burial to honor and celebrate her life will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2020 at Noon in the St. Monica Catholic Church, 79 Summer Street, Barre, VT, followed by internment in the Wilson Cemetery in Lower Websterville.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Aldrich Public Library, 6 Washington Street, Barre, VT 05641; Barre Opera House, PO Box 583, Barre, VT 05641; or to the charity of one’s choice.