Memorable Manitobans: Hélène Marie Désange Blais (1917-2012)

Music teacher.

Born in Transcona on 16 April 1917, one of seven children of Marie Anne Eléontine Blais and Eusèbe Blais, she attended boarding schools at the St. Charles Convent and St. Joseph’s Academy. She received a music teacher diploma (1938) and performance diploma (1939) then began giving piano lessons from the family home on Victoria Avenue in Trancona.

In 1944, she became a member of the Registered Music Teachers Association of Manitoba and, starting in 1955, operated the Helene Blais Music Studios at 306 Day Street where she instructed hundreds of children and adults in classical piano. She was the organist for numerous weddings and funerals throughout Winnipeg, and at weekly services at Notre Dame de l'Assomption Parish in Transcona.

Following retirement in 1983, her final years were spent at L'Acceuille Columbian in St. Boniface and Tache Personal Care Home. In recognition of her community service, she received Le Prix Riel (1987).

She died at Winnipeg on 14 December 2012.

Sources:

Birth registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 22 December 2012.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 6 August 2022