Helen Ilona Vari ( de Fabinyi; March 31, 1931 – March 16, 2023) was a Canadian philanthropist.

Biography

Vari was born Helen Ilona de Fabinyi in

Spišská Nová Ves Spišská Nová Ves (; hu, Igló; german: (Zipser) Neu(en)dorf) is a town in the Košice Region of Slovakia. The town is located southeast of the High Tatras in the Spiš region, and lies on both banks of the Hornád River. It is the biggest tow ...

on March 31, 1931, and was raised in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. She was educated in Hungary and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. She met

George Vari George William Vari, (August 14, 1923 – December 9, 2010) was a Canadians, Canadian real estate developer and philanthropist. Trained as a civil engineer and economist in Hungary, he immigrated to Canada after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution ...

in 1950. She fled Hungary in 1957 following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. She and George were married in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in 1967. In 1984, Vari and her husband founded the George and Helen Vari Foundation to promote education in Canada and cultural and educational exchange. The foundation gave philanthropic gifts to numerous educational institutions including the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

and Ontario Tech University. The Varis donated generously to the restoration of

Les Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...

and donated thousands of Canadian maple trees to the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

to replace those destroyed in a storm. On November 19, 2015, Vari was made a Member of the Order of Canada, she was invested on February 12, 2016, at

Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and their representative, the governor general of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main b ...

by David Johnston,

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

. She was also honoured with the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

and served as a patron of the foreign section of the Society of Members of the Legion of Honour. She was honorary colonel of the

Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's Own) The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's Own) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. Lineage File:Tor Scots Colour.jpg, The regimen ...

. In 2022, as honorary co-chair of the Vimy Foundation, Vari unveiled the Vari Gate in

Vimy Vimy ( or ; ; Dutch: ''Wimi'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Located east of Vimy is the Canadian National Vimy Memorial dedicated to the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Canadian soldiers ...

. She also financed a new visitor's centre at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Vari died on March 16, 2023, at the age of 91.

Honours

National honours

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

February 6, 2002:

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

November 19, 2015: Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

February 6, 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Foreign honours

* : ** ''

Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

'': ***

2012: Officer *** Legion of Honour - Commander (France)

2018: Commander *** Legion of Honour - Grand Officer (France)

2022: Grand Officer ** '' Ordre national du Mérite'': *** National Order of Merit - Officer (France)

Officer

Honorary degrees

* 2003:

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

(LLD) * 2011: Victoria University,

, Doctor of Humane Letters (LHD) * 2015: University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Doctor of Laws (LLD) * 2017:

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

, Doctor of Laws (LLD) * 2019:

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Franc ...

* 2022:

Nipissing University , mottoeng = Spirit of Integrity , established = , former_names = Northeastern University (1960-1967), Nipissing College (1967-1992) , type = Public University , academic_affiliation = COU, CVU, Universities Canada , endowment ...

, Doctor of Letters (DLitt)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vari, Helen 1931 births 2023 deaths Hungarian emigrants to Canada Canadian women philanthropists Canadian socialites Members of the Order of Canada Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's Own) People from Spišská Nová Ves