Helen Joyce McKee (October 29, 1933 – December 28 or 29, 1999) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

curler from

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. She was a five-time Canadian champion. Born in

Asquith, Saskatchewan Asquith is a town in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada, approximately west of Saskatoon. It became a village in December 1907. According to the 2011 Census, its population is 603. The site was largely the original lands settled by Ontario pion ...

, McKee won her very first provincial title as a skip in 1954, before the creation of a Canadian women's championship. She won again in 1960, earning the right to play at the Western Canada women's championship in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

. Her Saskatchewan rink defeated Alberta 14–11 in the Western final, and was invited to play the Eastern Canadian champion Ruth Smith rink from Quebec in an unofficial championship in

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. McKee's team defeated the Quebec team in two matches, 11–3 and 8–5. The following season, the McKee rink once again won the provincial title. This time, the Canadian Ladies' Curling Association organized a national championship with a similar format to

the Brier The Tim Hortons Brier, or simply (and more commonly) the Brier (''french: Le Brier''), is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The current event name refers to its main sponsor, the Tim Hortons coffee and ...

, the Canadian men's championship. This first event would be called the 1961 Diamond D Championship, and it was held at the

Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club The Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, often referred to as Ottawa Hunt or the Hunt Club, is a private golf and curling club in Canada, located in Ottawa, Ontario. Founded in 1908 as a hunting club, it has hosted many world-class professional and amateur ...

in Ottawa. McKee and her rink of

Sylvia Fedoruk Sylvia Olga Fedoruk ( e-doruk Ukrainian: Федорук) (May 5, 1927 – September 26, 2012) was a Canadian physicist, medical physicist, curler and the 17th Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan. Life Born in Canora, Saskatchewan, the daughter ...

, Barbara MacNevin, Rosa McFee won the new event, finishing with an undefeated 9-0 record. In , McKee returned to national championship, skipping the team of

Vera Pezer Vera Rose Pezer (born 13 January 1939) is a Canadian athlete and administrator. Pezer was the Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan from 2007 to 2013. A sports enthusiast, Pezer is a Canadian softball champion, golfing contender, and curli ...

, Lenore Morrison and Jennifer Falk to another Saskatchewan and Canadian championship. The team was tied with Ontario in their final round robin game with a 7–1 record. They happened to play Ontario in their final game which they won, 6–5, earning them the championship. The team then changed its lineup to have Pezer skip and McKee throw second stones, and brought in

Sheila Rowan Sheila Anne "Stretch" Rowan (April 22, 1940 – August 2, 2014) was a Canadian curler from Saskatoon. Rowan was born in Young, Saskatchewan where she grew up before moving to Plenty, Saskatchewan in 1953 and Saskatoon in 1955 where she graduate ...

to throw third stones. This team won three more Saskatchewan and Canadian national championships (, , ). Later in life, McKee won the 1992

Canadian Senior Curling Championships The Canadian Senior Curling Championships are an annual bonspiel held to determine the national champions in senior curling for Canada. Seniors are defined as being people over the age of 50. The championship teams play at the World Senior Curlin ...

playing lead for the

rink. Outside of curling, McKee was employed in the parts department by Merlin Motors.

References

Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame 1960 McKee rinkSaskatoon Sports Hall of Fame 1961 McKee rinkSaskatoon Sports Hall of Fame 1969 McKee rink
Curlers from Saskatoon Canadian women curlers Canadian women's curling champions 1933 births 1999 deaths People from Asquith, Saskatchewan {{Canada-curling-bio-stub