Helen was born in Carbonear, Newfoundland on October 27, 1939 to Raymond and Louise Pelley. She grew up in a large family with six siblings – Wayne, Yvonne, Raymond, Betty-Lou, Gail and Frank. They were a very musical family and each of them either sang or played a musical instrument.

From a young age, Helen had a thirst for spiritual things. She would always ask her mother questions like: “Where did we come from?” and “Why are we here?”. Her mother would simply say, “Well, I had you and my mother had me, etc.” This did not satisfy her curious nature.

At the age of 16, Helen met and fell in love with a young sailor named George. They were married on October 5, 1961. Helen and George spent 61 years together and cherished four beautiful children – Gregory, Kimberly, Jacquieline and Joanna.

Helen’s questions about life were finally answered with a knock at the door. She had just been praying for someone to explain the truth about God to her. Helen answered the door and shortly thereafter began her study of the Bible with Sister Olive Duncombe. At one point she was studying two to three times a week because she knew that this was the truth and wanted to know everything about God. Helen dedicated her life to Jehovah and was baptized on December 13, 1967.

Helen helped many to learn the truth and dedicate their lives to Jehovah. She would take any opportunity to speak about Jehovah and was a pro at informal witnessing, whether it was at the grocery store or the bus stop. She would witness to all she met, and despite being shy by nature, she never let this stop her from sharing a verse from the Bible or a scriptural thought with whomever wanted to listen.

On October 20, 1987 Helen tragically lost her only son, Gregory, in death at the young age of 25. This was a devastating time for her and the family. Out of her sorrow was born a beautiful song she wrote and composed in honour of her son entitled, “When I see you again.”

Helen’s greatest priority in life was always doing things “Jehovah’s way” and teaching her children to do the same. She was the spiritual Matriarch of the family and raised all three of her daughters to serve and dedicate themselves to Jehovah despite difficult circumstances – no easy task. Her goal was always to teach her children that Jehovah was their best friend. If her girls were ever sad or upset, she would say “Did you talk to your best friend about it?”. Helen always said having all of her girls serving Jehovah was her life’s “Greatest Accomplishment”.

Helen was overjoyed when she became a Nana for the first time in 1997 with the birth of her first grandchild Rebekah Gabrielle Jarrar. This was like a bright light for her after the loss of her dear son and she truly came alive again when Rebekah was born. Helen was blessed again in 2000, with the birth of her second grandchild Natalie Danielle Jarrar. She became a Nana four times over with the arrival of Gabriella Ava Cabral in 2007 and Evan Gregory Cabral in 2012. Helen was also afforded the rare privilege of becoming a great grandmother to Jesse James and Sophia Rose.

Helen died peacefully surrounded by her family on April 15, 2023 and is safe in Jehovah’s memory now. We cannot wait to see Helen and her beloved son when Jehovah calls all those out of the Memorial Tombs to life again, because we know its “Just Around the Corner”.