Passed: Helen Walihura at 59 - funeral service on Thursday

By Pepper Parr

July 31^st, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

She was the kind of civil servant who knew what the job meant and never failed to deliver.

Helen Walihura passed on Saturday, at the age of 59, leaving behind a son William, her husband Terry and hundreds of shocked staff member at City Hall.

Helen Walihura in the middle and in the background with then General Manager Scott Stewart and Councillor Meed Ward.

Helen was the person who handled the government relations work for the city.  She was the person that worked to be aware of the government granting opportunities and then worked tirelessly to fill in the forms and lobby with the federal or provincial departments to ensure they had all the information they needed.

Helen was a quiet person. She tended to fuss over things wanting the work she was doing to be done just right.

During the official opening of the underpass on King Road in December of 2013, the scissors used to cut the ribbon that let the Official Opening Party drive through the underpass, that heritage fire truck leading the way, the scissors used to cut the ribbon were kept in Helen’s purse.

I was never sure if they were Helen’s scissors, something she brought from her home because the city didn’t have any scissors or if Helen was making sure the scissors didn’t get mislaid.

She loved the job she was doing; the people she worked with daily loved the way she did her work. The practice in Burlington is to lower one of the flags when a Staff member is lost.  If you happen to walk by – pause and be grateful that Helen was with the city for as long as she was – the work she did benefited you.