Helen Aileen Archer
January 5, 1935 – September 29, 2025

Memorial Service at McDougal Chapel, Sundre, Alberta on Sunday, October 19 at 2:00 p.m.
Death has been swallowed up in victory! Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15: 54b-56.
Helen was born January 5, 1935, the youngest child of Maxwell Eby Archer and Helen May Archer. She was “Little Sis” to big brothers Jack, Paul and Willard, and loving big sister to Gerri Madoche-Atkin, who came to live with the family at 8 years old. She was Aunt Helen to nine nieces and nephews, and as well, she was Aunt Helen to a host of other relatives and friends, including the many children that she taught at the mission school in Jos, Nigeria. Helen grew up on the family farm east of Didsbury, attended the Gore School and then Didsbury High School. During that time, she boarded at Mountain View Bible College, and then she attended MVBC for a couple of years. After this, she went on to university to become a teacher.
In her own words, Helen described her years in Nigeria.
In March of 1963, she applied to the Mission Board but they had no place for her that year. The next March, she received a phone call instructing her to be prepared to travel to Nigeria the first week in July to teach grade two. She travelled with returning missionaries to Kano, stayed overnight and then flew to Jos. She asked Eileen, with whom she was travelling, what language the people in Customs were speaking – which was English – but her comment – Certainly wasn’t my form of English!
The bus ride to the SIM Guesthouse in Kano was frightening – first time on the wrong side of the road, camels, donkeys, sheep, goats, vehicles and people all over the road. Apparently, a major vehicle breakdown was if your horn didn’t work!
They were met in Jos by mission personnel and Hillcrest Missionary School staff. She went directly to a teachers’ meeting and found that she was not teaching grade two, but would be teaching grade five, and so was unable to use the curriculum she had prepared. Next, she discovered that she would be taking her turn driving one of the VW vans with Mission kids from Rock Haven to Hillcrest. She says that they gave her a couple of dry runs before her first trip, and she learned quickly that if she saw people, donkeys, sheep or goats on the road, to slow down – there was always one more!
On the Plateau, there were two seasons, wet and dry, and it was not as hot as “down country”. She remembered her surprise at seeing a hailstorm, but it made her feel right at home.

Helen came home to Canada in 1968, and finished her degree, and taught a year before returning to Nigeria. She was to teach in a teacher training school for men at Mokwa, which was down country. She taught English, Math, Religious Knowledge and supervised teaching practice. This entailed driving to Jebba and staying in the Mission house all week working with students, checking lesson plans, visiting the classrooms, giving advice. On Friday night, she was to return to Mokwa, so a drive down to the bridge to cross the Niger river. This was also the railway bridge, was one way, the Fulanis drove their cattle across it. That night a lorry was stopped on the bridge and needed repairs, so nothing moved, including Helen! She arrived home the next day. There are now two bridges at Jebba, one for the railway and one for vehicle traffic.

About this time, Nigeria decided that they would not drive on the wrong side of the road anymore. New signs were put up and then one Saturday night, all traffic stopped and Sunday morning they moved to the other side of the road. She was sure that chaos would ensue, but there were fewer accidents than usual!
The following is mostly in her own words, from letters she sent home from Mokwa and Tungan Magijey:
I was sent to TM to be principal of the Mission Coed Secondary School, but the government took over all voluntary schools and our co-ed became girls only.
Home in July of 1974, and returned in December that year to work directly under the government. She needed a car so bought a 404 Peugeot with a government grant. Paid them so much a month, charged them mileage and a car fee and usually ended up earning more than she paid. Sold the car in 1978 and got more than she had paid for it originally.

Travelling to Sokoto was something else. Dry season you went the short route which meant crossing the river on a ferry made of two dugout canoes and a bit of lumber. Down the bank and keep up your speed to get through the sand and up the little ramp onto the ferry and STOP. Room for you, and only you! They poled the ferry across – no ropes or cables attached. Now GUN IT to get down the ramp, through the sand up the bank and onto the road. Only got stuck once!

Helen was transferred to Birnin Kebbi to a large girls’ teacher training school. If she thought TM was problematic, now it multiplied. There were 650 girls, a boarding school, dorm mothers, yard men, night guards, storekeeper, office staff, three messengers – (her walking communication system) and not to mention, teachers. Classes were in English, but her teachers were Nigerian, Filipino, Pakistani, Indian, Sudanese, Canadian and VSO’s from Ireland and England.

Helen shared how she prepared for a new term in Birnin Kebbi.
1. Check with finance officer to see what she had to work with under each subhead and establish a budget for the next three months.
2. Check with the storekeeper to see what supplies were on hand.
3. Travel to Sokoto, 95 miles from BK, and collect all the files for the school, then sit in the finance officer’s office while principals from the boys’ school got something from the subheads that she needed. Then approach his desk and put down the files with a letter indicating how many Naira would be needed. Then the fun … “sorry, I don’t have anything under that subhead”. No no – you just gave that other principal something under that subhead … so … Poor man, he didn’t catch on to her tactics, but he did know that she would be back the next day if she didn’t get what she wanted the first day.
4. Take the allocations home and take them to the sub-treasury and have them put into the file and update the books at school
5. Supplies: 650 girls, oh ya – that trader left a bag of rice at my house. Dog food he said but actually it was a bribe and she had to pay him back, so 650 x 3 small packets of omo, 650 x 3 of toilet paper rolls, 650 x 3 bars of bath soap, 650 x 3 packets of sanitary pads – and bring them to the veranda outside her office door. She counted it all before sending it to the storeroom where it was re-counted and signed in. She would sign four times on the payment sheet before he could collect at the sub treasury.
6. Fabric for the uniforms … two simple sack dresses. Decide on material, color and haggle with another trader. Usually, a tailor who would come to measure each student so she had to combine material and workmanship into that contract. They also had a formal outfit that was 6 yards of fabric and sewing of the blouse to be added to the contract.
7. Another trader would provide exercise books, pencils, biros, double-edged razorblades (which were pencil sharpeners), chalk, blackboard brushes, etc. Helen checked prices in the market before working on this contract. Textbooks she bought herself through bookstores in Sokoto.
8. Establish the week’s menu. Monday’s menu never changed. She had to establish prices, the necessity of having food delivered on time. She never weighed the meat until it had sat in the tubs to let the water seep out of it – that trader wasn’t her best, but he would always wait so long as she kept saying “I’m coming”. She got a lot more meat than he expected to have to deliver.
9. The next big hurdle was establishing a time table. Never enough tutors so you just did the best you could to satisfy the tutors and would maybe add one or two extra classes so that they were all covered. Helen usually taught English or Math.
10. Check the dorms, beds, straw mats for each. Do the light switches work? What about the fans? First formers were fascinated with two-way switches and changing the speed of the fans. They quite literally wore them out!
11. Speak to yard men, dorm mothers, guards and kitchen staff and try to meet and solve their problems before the girls arrived.

And finally Day One! Forms two to five would go directly to the dorm area where they would be assigned beds according to pre-arranged plans. Meanwhile, register the form ones. Little girls 12 to 13 years old who had likely never seen a white lady and had definitely never been this far from home. Their answer to where they were from was “Da Nisa” which means “Far”. Helen had to know their village so she could figure the distance and from that, decide what the travel money would be at the end of term. What a headache, as they were so frightened that English was beyond them. So Helen depended on Ali (one of the messengers) to interpret. Form ones were brought by their local authority and left. They had a metal box which was usually empty, but would end up being used for their school supplies, and the clothing on their backs. Hence the need to get that tailor working.
Classes started the next day and then other problems came to the forefront. Remember, Helen was the last word for everything that happened on the compound!
The responsibilities were tremendous, but as Helen looked back on them, she realized that you do everything one day at a time and she knew it is where she was supposed to be. Therefore, it wasn’t so bad – just a challenge!

Around 1978, Helen returned to Canada, and found a permanent teaching position at the Sundre school. To the end of her days, students whom she taught, would meet her on the street and greet her, saying that she had taught them in grade 5 or whatever grade she was teaching at the time. The Sundre community welcomed her wholeheartedly, and after retirement, she was a volunteer in various community activities. She particularly enjoyed going to the Seniors Lodge in Sundre, at meal time, and helping to feed those who were unable to help themselves. She usually had stories about various little old ladies or men who she had learned to love, as she ministered to them.
Around that time, Granny Archer (May Archer), who was widowed in 1977, made the decision to sell the family farm to another family member, and to move to Sundre. She had a house built “for her old age”, and she lived in that house, just down the block from Helen, until her death at 102. Helen spent a lot of time with her mother during those years, and both she and Granny were blessed to be able to spend time together. Both Helen and May were intrigued by a bit of globetrotting, and they travelled to England and Scotland during that time. As well, Granny travelled to Nigeria alone before Aunt Helen left there for the last time, and spent some time at the teachers’ college.

Approximately two years ago, Helen came to the conclusion that it was time to sell her home and move into the Lodge. She was adamant that she was going to Aspen Ridge in Didsbury, rather than the Sundre lodge, so we were able to make that happen. I understand that even there, she had drop-ins from former students, someone from Nigeria, and so many others who loved her. Bill Weir was a frequent drop-in, who brought his dog in along with a dog treat which he sneaked into Helen’s hand to give to the dog. When she was in the Didsbury hospital during the last days of her life, Bill dropped in again to see her, and she asked “Where’s the Dog?”

Helen was a formidable woman with a huge heart for her family and her community. She loved singing and music, and as a young woman, enjoyed singing duets with her dad, Max Archer. Again, during the last days of her life, she requested Elsie and Patty to sing to her in the hospital, that beloved old children’s hymn, “Jesus Loves Me”. And so, at her service today, we will sing Jesus Loves Me, just for Aunt Helen.

Those who would have greeted her in Heaven at the joyful reunion the morning of September 29 would have been so many. Her beloved parents, Max and May Archer. Her brothers and sisters-in-law, Jack and Marion, Paul and Florence, Willard. Her dearly loved adopted sister, Gerri Atkin. Her grandparents, David and Priscilla Archer, as well as Annie and John (Jack) Weir. Cousins, Gerald and Margaret Archer, Don and Betty Archer, Edward and Darlene Archer, Joyce Pratt, David Archer. Uncles and Aunts – Earl and Katherine Archer, Alec and Alice Weir, John and Gertie Weir, Donald (Dutch) and Doreen Weir, Crosby and Dorothy Archer, Ruby Archer. These are the ones that come to mind, but our Christian heritage goes far beyond those mentioned.
There are few of Helen’s generation left on earth. Her sister-in-law Elsie Archer, cousins Donna Hiebert, Walter Archer, Norman Archer. Donna Draves, Bill Weir, Bob Weir, Sandy Weir, Ann Wombold, Reg Weir. She had nine nieces and nephews, Shirley and Danny Gillrie, Beverley and Lance Taylor, Jeannie and James Quantz. Dwayne and Cindy Archer, Doris and Bob Davies, Delos Archer. Dan Archer, Patty and Colin Creighton, Andrea Archer. There are a great many great nieces and nephews, cousins, and second and third generation kids loved by Helen.

When Granny Archer passed away, we realized that we had lost the one who prayed daily for all of us by name. Aunt Helen took over that responsibility, and she blessed all of us by her love, care and prayers for us. We were blessed to know and love Aunt Helen!

Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed at www.heartlandfuneralservices.com. Arrangements in care of: Heartland Funeral Services Ltd., 5226 – 46 Street, Olds, Alberta. Phone: 403.507.8610

• Date : 2025-10-09
• Location : (Olds) LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED (Red Deer/Blackfalds/Eckville) www.ParklandFuneralHome.com & (Innisfail/Olds/Didsbury/Sundre) www.HeartlandFuneralServices.com