Helen Frances
(Toulson) Jordan – 89, of Greenwich, passed away peacefully
on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, in Valley Hospice, Kentville, surrounded
by the love of her family. Born in Wolfville, she was the daughter of
the late John William “Bill” and Elizabeth
“Libbie” (Beker) Toulson.
Helen grew up on a
farm in Greenwich, Nova Scotia. As a young girl, days on the farm
included churning butter, grinding turnips in the barn for the
livestock, picking apples, and driving the tractor through the orchard
as her father tended to the apple trees. Aside from farm chores, she
was active with many interests: a silver medalist in rifle shooting,
an active member of the Girl Guides of Canada (where she was presented
with the Gold Cord by Lady Baden-Powell, the highest honour in
Guiding), and, of course, singing. Helen sang in many choirs over the
years, starting when she was a young girl singing alongside her
sister, Donna, in the choir at Greenwich United Church.
Helen graduated from
Wolfville High School and shortly after began working at the Royal
Bank of Canada. It was here that she caught the eye of Delmar, a new
employee. They started dating shortly after, and married in 1959. Bank
transfers saw them relocating first to PEI, then around Nova Scotia.
As Delmar continued with the bank, Helen stepped down shortly before
the arrival of their first son, Jamie, followed the next year by their
son Tim. In 1973, Helen and Delmar settled in Dartmouth, where they
lived for 20+ years. Delmar held many positions at the District Head
Office in Halifax, and Helen stayed at home to raise the boys. They
enjoyed travelling together, taking several trips to the Caribbean
Islands and England on business. Helen and Donna also made a couple of
trips to England, discovering their father’s hometown and
meeting and visiting with family members they hadn’t seen in
years.
After
Delmar’s retirement in 1991, they moved back to the
Annapolis Valley and built their retirement home in the
Toulsons’ family orchard.
Helen loved spending
time at the family cottage that she and Delmar built on Black River
Lake. Weekends, Christmases and summers were cottage time, either
spent quietly together or with any number of friends and family.
Everyone was always welcome.
Helen was the
heartbeat of the family – never missing a beat, taking her boys to
swimming lessons, cub scouts, music lessons, or taxiing them back and
forth to hockey practices and games, and sitting for hours in cold
rinks in the winter. She was always welcoming of all the boys’ friends
who came through the door at either the cottage or home; she was
consistently there for her boys.
This has carried on to
her four grandchildren, of whom she was immensely proud and equally as
supportive. Few people celebrate your successes as wholeheartedly as a
mother or grandmother, and Helen embodied that spirit
completely.
Aside from her love of
family, Helen’s other love was singing. She was very active
in local choirs and chorales in Halifax/Dartmouth and the Annapolis
Valley. She sang for many years in the Dartmouth Choral Society, the
Dalhousie Chorale, and for 16 years as a member of the Nova Scotia
International Tattoo Mass Choir. After moving back to the Valley, she
continued to make trips to the city to perform before joining the
choirs at the St. Andrew’s United and Wolfville Baptist
churches, as well as the Acadia University Chorus.
The highlight of her
singing career came in 2001, when she sang with her sister Donna as a
member of the Dalhousie University Chorus at Carnegie Hall in New York
City. The two were sometimes overheard revelling in how two young
girls from the small hamlet of Greenwich found themselves front and
center on stage at Carnegie Hall.
Helen’s inner
strength, positive outlook on life, and deep consideration for others
were evident in her final days and weeks, as she courageously fought
pancreatic cancer.
Helen is survived by
her husband of 66 years, Delmar Jordan; sons, James “Jamie”
Jordan (Kersti Tacreiter) and Timothy “Tim” Jordan (Janice
Dickie); sister, Donna (Dr. Gary) Curtis; and grandchildren, Quinn and
Mikka Jordan, Lila Tacreiter and Sophia Jordan. In addition to her
parents, she was predeceased by infant sons, Jon and
Jan.
The family would like
to express their heartfelt thanks to the caring and compassionate
doctors, nurses, and staff at Valley Hospice in Kentville, the
Annapolis Valley Palliative Care team, and VON.
Cremation has taken
place. In keeping with Helen’s wishes, there will be no
visitation. A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on
Saturday, December 20, 2025, in the White Family Funeral Home,
Kentville, with a reception to follow. For those unable to attend, a
livestream of the service will be available. A private family
interment will be held at Willow Bank Cemetery in Wolfville. Donations
in memory may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society, Valley Hospice
Foundation, or a charity of choice. Funeral arrangements have been
entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services,
Kentville. Online condolences and inquiries may be directed towww.whitefamilyfuneralhome.com.