The funeral service for the late Mr Roy Helfert will be held at the Evergreen Chapel, Lester & Son Funeral Home, corner of Mate and Wantigong Streets, North Albury on Tuesday, 24th January, 2017 commencing at 2.30pm. Private Cremation.
HELFERT, Roy
18.6.1939 – 14.1.2017
Passed away peacefully on Saturday, 14th January, 2017 at the UPA Jindera Hostel.
Will be sadly missed by his friends.
Rest In Peace
Roy Helfert taught me at Richlands State High from 1975 – 1977 He was the best teacher. I have tried to find him for years and never had any luck. What a shock to her of his death. god Bless you…. Brenda Maria Beran
I am Roy’s son. I did not ever get to meet him, for reasons beyond my control. I had no idea he was a teacher, actually I know very little about him at all. Today I discovered he died nearly a year ago. I’m on a journey right now to discover all that was lost or kept from me, by my mother and her family about him. Just to put in place the pieces of my life that have made no sense up until now. Thank you for your little piece, it now sends me on another path to find out more about my father…have a wonderful Christmas…
Bret, your Dad was an amazing man! Such sad news I have just come across today. Mr Helfert was not only my favourite teacher at Richlands High School, but the most wonderful friend to my family. He came to our home and ate and laughed with us. My dear Mum who is now in her late 80’s talks about him often. He helped me get my first holiday job. And when I left school, he gave me a lovely reference. He truly made my school years bearable. I no longer live in Australia and I have met some wonderful people in my life, but Mr Helfert was a real gentleman and I only wish we could have stayed in touch. Honestly I wish I could tell him how much he meant to my family. With tears in my eyes I write this. Rest in peace Mr Helfert. With love Sally (nee Lewis) and family xx
Have just seen this. Is this Roy Helfert who came from Austria? HIs real name was Rudolf and friends called him Rudi. I used to know him well. I am sad to hear of his death. I’m just checking to see if I have the correct person.
Yes, I can tell by the photograph that this is the Roy (Rudolf) Helfert that I knew. I hope that Bret is able to read this at such a late date and that it may help him get to know his father. Roy lived in Sydney when he came to Australia. I first met him when he was the psychologist for a college that I attended in Brisbane many years ago. We became friends because I had lived in Austria for six months and we used to chat about Austria. Roy’s father was a businessman who travelled extensively and Roy sometimes went with him. He did not get on with his mother, but that’s another story. His parents were moneyed and lived in a castle in Austria. They were socialites, and in Austria people like that are treated like royalty. Roy was a gentleman, and quietly spoken. I left Brisbane and didn’t see him again for a couple of years or so, and then met him again after he moved to Bli Bli on the Sunshine Coast. We used to meet regularly for lunch. After a few years, Roy moved away and we lost touch. He told me that he was moving to Tasmania, but I don’t know if he went there or not.
Have just seen this. Is this Roy Helfert who came from Austria? HIs real name was Rudolf and friends called him Rudi. I used to know him well. I am sad to hear of his death. I’m just checking to see if I have the correct person. He was a psychologist, and was an only child from a well-to-do Austrian family. He spent a lot of time with his grandparents when he was young. He ran away from Austria and his parents who he had a lot of problems with, and got on a boat to Australia when he was very young. He did tell me that he had a son that he never saw, but wouldn’t talk about it.
Hello Bret, Your dad did tell us he had a son called Bret. As Sally said he was a wonderful man. He taught all his students to grow into proud people. He was a real mentor of life and took pride in passing knowledge to all his students.
I did phone one of his siblings many years ago when I found a phone number. At that time the son I spoke too was in Harvey Bay or some where up that way, He did not want to know about his father at that time. He just told me
his father gave him away many years ago.?
Your father wrote books one was Songs of Papua New Guinea it was published throught Jacaranda Press.
Regards
Brenda Beran
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