A long standing member of the Montréal Slavic Canadian community Helen (Elena Yakovlevna) Bondar Szypulin passed away peacefully on 5 January 2023, in Ottawa at 97 years of age.

Elena was born in Nemirov, Ukraine of mixed Russian Ukrainian heritage. A proud daughter of a Ukrainian Orthodox minister, she was a woman of great faith. She spent the war years in a Nazis German labor camp and worked as a laboratory technician for a company now known as BMW. She, her husband and daughter moved to Canada in 1951.

She was a very active member supporting cultural activities of the Slavic community in the Montréal area. She worked both as a teacher and principal of the Russian church school for a number of years and was also a long-time volunteer for the All Cossack Association where she worked for many years as a Secretary and Treasurer for the Association as well as being writer and editor of The Messenger. This journal earned her international recognition and many new friendships around the world.
 
Elena also wrote two published books one of which was on the post WW 2 tragedy that took place at Lienz, Austria. This often forgotten history told the story of many Russian war refugees who chose to die rather than face a return to the USSR.
 
This great grandmother leaves behind her beloved daughter (Halina), three grandchildren (André, Tanya, Nathalie) and six great grandchildren (Sacha, Adèle, Cédrique, Xzavier, Alexandre, Erik).
 
A Panihida (funeral service) will be held on Tuesday, 10 January 2023, at 6 PM at the Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral (15 Lebreton St, Ottawa). The burial will be in Rawdon, QC on Wednesday, 11 January at 1 PM at the St. Seraphim Russian Orthodox Cemetery, 3458-15e Ave.
 
The family wishes to thank the Royal Ottawa Place staff for their kind assistance in Elena’s latter years.