Obituary of Helen Winsloe Galt
HELEN WINSLOE GALT
(nee Hyndman)
Helen was born April 5, 1920, and died peacefully in Toronto on October 6, 2020, in her 101st year. She was predeceased by her husband, Thomas Maunsell Galt, the love of her life for 70 years of marriage. Helen is survived by her two loving children, George Galt (Alyse Frampton) and Lesley Brown (Stephen) and by four beloved grandchildren: Vanessa Galt (Simon Gorecki), Hilary Santoni (Dave), Michael Brown (Danielle), and Rebecca Brown Newman (Scott). She was predeceased in 2013 by her grandson Christopher Brown (Leslie), whom she also adored. Helen was blessed with nine great-grandchildren, Michael, Nicola, and Lily Santoni; Gillian and Ted Brown; Liam, Henry and George Brown, and Thomas Gorecki Galt.
Helen was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, both her parents having emigrated from Prince Edward Island to Boston early in the twentieth century. She came to Montreal to attend McGill where she graduated with a B.A. and met her future husband Tom.
Helen was passionately interested in, and knowledgeable about, painting, porcelain, sculpture, and antiques. She served as a docent at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and was an avid supporter of Toronto’s Gardiner Museum of ceramics. Her houses always reflected her keen interest in the decorative arts. She also took pride in her green thumb, maintaining beautiful gardens at her homes in Montreal and Toronto, and at the couple’s summer retreat at Metis Beach, Quebec.
Helen was always an enthusiastic supporter of her husband Tom throughout his long career at Sun Life of Canada. They moved to Winnipeg together after the war so Tom could finish his studies at the University of Manitoba, then in 1948 moved to Montreal where he took a job with Sun Life as a junior actuary. She was Tom’s energetic and loyal helpmate as he rose to become CEO and chairman of Sun Life. After thirty happy years in Montreal, she organized their new home in Toronto, a city she and Tom grew to love. Together they worked with the sculptor, Sorel Etrog, to produce Etrog’s memorable piece of public art that stands outside the Sun Life building in downtown Toronto.
A force of nature, Helen was an intensely social person who lived for her family and her friends. She adored being with people, and enjoyed the camaraderie of her fellow retirees and the support of the excellent staff at the Russell Hill Retirement Residence in Toronto where she lived during her last decade.
The family would like to thank Helen’s caregivers Gloria Dixon and Beverly Dale for the love and kindness they offered Helen in her final years.
Condolences may be forwarded through www.humphreymiles.com.
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