Helga van Wyk passed away peacefully on May 3, 2026, in Chicago with her husband, Guillaume, by her side. She was 45.
Born in Nelspruit, South Africa, to Willem and Anna (Myburgh) Blom, Helga grew up on the family farm, running barefoot through maize fields. Even though their home was adjacent to Kruger National Park, a place she later cherished, she never visited as a child, instead focusing on academics and sports, especially field hockey and target shooting. Helga moved on to advanced studies at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. In May 1999, she met Guillaume “Guill” van Wyk when they were asked to plan a mutual friend’s birthday party. Helga was the planner and Guill was the driver, the genesis of roles they would continue in their lives together. As students, Helga and Guill favored hours of square-dancing over nightclubs, and honored Sundays with church, as their shared Afrikaner family traditions had taught them. During quiet visits to Naval Hill, they dreamt about their future as a couple while enjoying the views and spotting antelope at the nearby game reserve. And they shaped their own traditions, such as Helga preparing Guill’s lunch during his daily class breaks, and Guill delighting her with his piano playing.
Helga and Guill were married at Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria, on Nov. 20, 2004, early summer in South Africa. They specifically chose the Voortrekker Monument, a granite Art Deco structure, because it was raised to honor God’s protection over Afrikaners – a recognition of Helga and Guill’s heritage, but also of their belief that God will protect those who walk with Him by their side.
The newlyweds moved to remote Mozambique, where they developed and managed a large game reserve, he as the “driver” with his wildlife management degree, and she as the “planner” with her accounting degree. Over 13 years, they created a magnificent tourism and wildlife destination, employing hundreds of people, and were also responsible for the neighboring village of 5000 residents, who loved Helga so much that many named their daughters after her.
In 2018, Helga and Guill left Mozambique to spend the year traveling around the continent of Africa with their pop-up 4×4 bush trailer. They did all the things they loved: canoeing, hiking, sky jumping and safari game drives. Helga treasured telling the stories of their adventures, particularly in her beloved Botswana, where they cuddled in their camper as lions and elephants meandered nearby.
But despite their love for their homeland, their sights were now on the U.S., and an opportunity to work for an American safari tour operator in 2019 had them packing up to move across the world. Helga went for her physical exam as part of the process, where she first heard the word that she would resist defining the rest of her life: cancer.
Always a fighter, Helga took the breast cancer diagnosis in stride. She agreed to a rigorous treatment plan that required her to travel back and forth from their new California home to South Africa until she could receive care in the U.S. After a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation, she was cleared.
But then the cancer returned, this time in her ovaries. More surgery, more treatments. Each time, Helga was told she might not recover. But each time, she did.
Over the next years, she endured numerous procedures, until finally in 2023 she was diagnosed with Leptomeningeal disease (LMD), a particularly rare and sprawling form of cancer that attacks the nervous system, causing neurological, physical and gastrointestinal issues. Again, she was told she only had months to live.
By this time, Helga and Guill had settled in Utah, where they enjoyed the change of seasons, the mountain views and the fresh air that reminded them of home. They eventually became owners of Great Safaris, the tour operator that first drew them to America, and they worked from home together, the “driver” and the “planner.” Even when she could barely stand due to the pain, Helga insisted on the tradition of making Guill’s lunch every day, just as when they were university students.
Utah is also where Helga found help at Huntsman Cancer Institute, particularly with her cherished oncologists, Dr. Rachna Malani and Dr. Christos Vaklavas. As Helga’s terminal prognosis melted into months and then years, she became a medical marvel that allowed the Huntsman team to further research LMD therapies. Her case was so extraordinary that she will be featured in scientific journals for years to come, and her successes with various strategies will help others struggling to live with LMD.
Meanwhile, Helga continued living life to the fullest, even taking her dream trip to Katmai National Park in Alaska for bear sightings, and an ultimate voyage to Egypt. When Great Safaris was asked to provide a Make-a-Wish safari, Helga personally designed it from her own experience of traveling with limitations.
In 2026, Helga was again told she only had months to live, but our fighter was not finished. She found an experimental treatment in Chicago, and gathered her strength for yet another surgery, which went well. But complications set in a few days later, and Helga went to be with her Lord on May 3.
Helga leaves behind her soulmate, Guillaume; brothers, Abrie (Rene), Rupert (Mari), Werner (Lizanda) and Armand (Josie) Blom; and sister, Amanda Blom. She was preceded in death by her parents, Willem and Anna Blom, and her brother Schalk Blom (Riana).
Just before she died, barely able to raise her arms, Helga drew Guill in for a hug and kiss, using her last energy to comfort him instead of herself. This is how Helga lived: always thinking of others, always seeing the good in everything and always walking in faith. She was so well-loved, and will be deeply missed and forever remembered.
Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to Huntsman Cancer Center at Fundraise for Huntsman : Helga Van Wyk
A visitation will be held in Helga’s honor on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 from 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints located at 450 North Elk Ridge Dr, Elk Ridge, Utah. Her funeral will immediately follow at the same location beginning at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be in the Salem City cemetery.
Leave a Condolence