Friends celebrate local woman’s 104th birthday
After 65 years in city, Helen Demark will soon be moving to Alabama
The past 65 years for Helen Demark have been as a resident of Royal Oak. While she will be leaving the city she has spent the longest stretch of her 104 years in, friends gave her a memory of a lifetime this week.
The Canadian native raised a family in extraordinary times and has now celebrated 104 birthdays. Tuesday, July 7, her most recent celebration was made extra special by her surrounding friends and neighbors in her Webster Street area. Her backyard neighbor, Kathy Howell, spearheaded a surprise celebration when she found out the long-adored friend and neighbor would soon be moving to Alabama where her lone daughter resides. Those who took part observed measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A bunch of neighbors masked up, socially distanced and marched by her house to sing her Happy Birthday. We wore red for America and Canada,” Howell said.
Nearly 100 folks paraded down Webster Avenue with the Royal Canadian Legion Post 84 members leading the parade for the Canadian citizen. Children and adults joined in as Howell had contacted hundreds of people to take part in the event.
The Royal Oak Police and Fire Department also participated with a fire truck and police car with lights blazing bringing up the rear of the parade, according to Howell. After the parade the attendees all counted out Demark’s birthday and as they finished a clap of thunder shook the area and everyone dispersed. The Royal Oak City Commis
sion also created a proclamation declaring July 7 as Helen Demark Day to honor and celebrate “Royal Oak’s oldest living Canadian citizen.”
“The parade was nice. There were people on both sides of the road in front of my house,” Demark said. “It was the most memorable birthday I’ve ever had. It was a surprise – especially with that many people there.”
Demark “thinks Royal Oak is really a nice city. I was here for over 60 years,” the Welland, Ontario, Canada native said.
The oldest of seven sisters, Demark originally moved to Highland Park with her husband. They had two sons before moving to Royal Oak in 1955 when their daughter was born. Her husband died of a stroke, leaving Helen to make ends meet through many part-time and temporary jobs. On top of that, she had no driver’s license and walked to each work location. Her two sons have died leaving her daughter in Alabama as her lone child. Later in July, Demark will move to Alabama to a senior living facility near her daughter.
“My first encounter with her was at the First Congregational Church of Royal Oak,” Howell said. “I was a young mother and we women hired her to clean our big kitchen. We used the kitchen a lot back then. She would walk over there and spend several hours cleaning that kitchen and wiping windowsills, you name it.”
Demark also babysat for the women of the church when they prepared meals for the Kiwanis Club.
“She did jobs like that to get through life. I also learned that when she was a younger woman, she took care of senior citizens. She patched her life together that way,” she said. “She retired from her job at the church when she was 83 years old and we had a big celebration luncheon for her at Red Run Golf Club.”
A box was set up in her yard for parade attendees to drop off cards and gifts.