Helen Vari

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 on March 31, 1931, and was raised in Hungary. She was educated in Hungary and Austria. She met George Vari in 1950. She fled Hungary in 1957 following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

The Varis donated generously to the restoration of Les Invalides and donated thousands of Canadian maple trees to the Palace of Versailles to replace those destroyed in a storm. She was also honoured with the French Legion of Honour and served as a patron of the foreign section of the Society of Members of the Legion of Honour. 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.

Ordre national du Mérite:

2011: Victoria University, University of Toronto, Doctor of Humane Letters (LHD) 2015: University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Doctor of Laws (LLD) 2017: Ryerson University, Doctor of Laws (LLD) 2019: St. Francis Xavier University 2022: Nipissing University, Doctor of Letters (DLitt)