Susanna Freymark
There are a lot of things Helen Lever is going to miss when she leaves Evans Head.
“I won’t hear the ocean,” she said.
After 25 years in Evans Head, Helen is moving to Toowoomba to be close to her family.
She’ll miss the friendships, the regular meetings at Vespas and the community of Evans Head.
Helen and her husband Kevin Lever came to Evans Head in 1999 for six months to see how they liked it.
“We stayed,” she said.
“Kev’s been gone three years now, so it’s time for me to go back to Toowoomba where I have heaps of family members eagerly awaiting Nan‘s arrival.”
Helen wanted to thank the community for “your welcome, for your warmth, your support, and for the sense of belonging we felt to this special community.”
She said because Evans Head is such a small place, you got to know local business people, often because there was only one of that kind of business in town.
“Thank you to all the local business people, always willing to help, especially the ones we mostly frequented – Greg for auto, Kim for hair, Carol for clothes, the butchers, the bakery, IGA, spa, the chemist girls, the Vespas girls, our medical centre, members of the RSL subbranch, Millie at physio and Graham and Marilyn at the post office – thank you all for being an important and integral part of our lives.”
Helen said she would really miss her friends.
“You will always be in my heart and my thoughts. Thank you for that love, support, adventures and friendship we’ve shared,” she said.
Helen had three friends who had also lost their husbands.
Every morning they each send a text message of a heart emoji to let each other know they were okay.
“To the regular familiar faces I see downtown and the unfamiliar faces, or tourists, who readily smile and say hello or have a chat. You are all a testament to the friendly spirit of our village,” Helen said.
“Thanks also to my special and kind neighbours, Terry, Betty, and Danny, who just by their presence, made me feel safe especially after Kevy died.”
Helen has four children (six children including Kev’s) and 21 grandchildren.
Helen will be moving from a population of 3000 people to Toowoomba with 160,000 residents. It will be a big change.
“I will always treasure the time spent here in Evans and carry a heart full of wonderful memories, but I’m also looking forward so very much to spending time with my family,” she said.
Helen posted lots of photos of her friends on Facebook.
Helen will miss Evans Head, and it looks like Evans Head will miss her too.
and then