Helen was born on February 8, 1923, in Rosenwald, Western Siberia. She was three years old at the time of her family’s emigration to Canada. At age 11, the family moved again—this time to Gem, Alberta. During the following 12 years, she grew into a young woman on the irrigation farm in Gem. At the age of 15, she became a believer in Christ, becoming baptized in 1940 on confession of her faith.

     Her siblings remembered her for the many boy friends and would-be boy friends who lurked around the Neumann farm during those years. She was a very popular young lady. For many of those years, she was the oldest sibling living at home, as the older members of the family had moved out on their own. Her younger siblings, regarded her, in sister Kay’s absence, “…as the acting yard foreman from whom we received our orders to rake, hoe, sweep, fetch water, chop wood and so on—always with the authority of mom or dad to back her up”.

     On February 11, 1945, she married Jake Harder from Borden, Saskatchewan. Their first home was in Saskatchewan, where Jake turned his hand to farming. Meanwhile, Helen’s parents left Gem and moved to Sardis, British Columbia. Helen and Jake soon followed and rented a dairy farm on Hopedale Road. 

     After a few years, they moved to Vancouver, where Jake worked in construction and Helen worked at Woodwards in Oakridge. They shared many enjoyable times with the extended family. They were often at Sally and Martin’s home, playing Canasta, or joining them on a vacation south of the border, or at the lake towing family members behind their ski boat. One of Helen’s greatest disappointments was the fact that she never had any children. Sadly, their marriage disintegrated, and in 1962, the final chapter was written on that part of her life.

     In 1978, through the intervention of sister, Kay, she met and married Cliff Rydde. They lived in Prince George and had many happy years together. Helen died on August 2, 1999 of a massive heart attack. Cliff moved back to his family roots in Saskatchewan, where he passed away in 2006.