Helga J Kane

Helga J. Kane left this earth on July 4 having just celebrated her 89th birthday. Born July 2, 1933, in Frankfurt, Germany to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother, the family fled the Holocaust and arrived in New York on Christmas Day 1939. Departing London on the Cunard passenger ship Lancastria, just days after England had declared war on Germany, their crossing of the Atlantic was perilous, but Helga remembered it as fun. German warplanes sunk the Lancastria less than 6 months later, in what remains England’s largest maritime disaster, resulting in an estimated 4,000 deaths. When Helga walked off that ship and immigrated through Ellis Island, she became an American and never looked back.
Raised in New York, Helga met and married Peter J. Kane who then joined the Navy and served as a bomber navigator in Korea. When he returned, they moved to Los Angeles and Helga gave birth to their only child Jennie, who cared for Helga lovingly in her final years. Helga also acquired her first Collie puppy which would lead her into a lifelong passion for the Collie breed. Peter enjoyed a long career with 20th Century Fox as a Sound Director. The family moved to Rolling Hills Estates in 1969 where Helga would have more room for dogs.

Many people love dogs. Few people take this love to the level Helga Kane did. She first raised a Champion Obedience Collie that received a perfect “200” in the Utility obedience ring and played doggie basketball during a Laker halftime show. She then developed a fascination for confirmation and raised numerous champion show Collies under her Kanebriar Kennel name. Ch. Kanebriar Keynote was one of the top 10 show Collies in America and Helga forever cherished his Best in Show trophy and recognition; Ch. Kanebriar Prime Minister was also special and close to her heart. However, she always maintained it was Ch. Kanebriar Holbrook Haloo that was her favorite. In her over 50 years as a member of the American Kennel Club, she served as a volunteer in many capacities doing whatever she could to preserve the standard and integrity of the classic Collie. She had a gifted eye for dog confirmation and movement and moved from breeding into judging dogs nationally and occasionally internationally. She was an AKC Judge for 37 years, judging the prestigious Collie Club of America National Specialty multiple times. She was President of the Collie Health Foundation and dedicated over two decades helping find cures for diseases that affected pure bred collies. She was a lifetime member of the Collie Club of America and the founding member and longtime President of South Bay Collie Fanciers. Her friends remember her as a talented breeder, fabulous mentor, brilliant judge and friend to many. She truly was one of a kind and always did it “her way”.

Helga was predeceased by her parents, Siegbert and Katharina Wetterhahn and her husband of 52 years, Peter J. Kane. She is also predeceased by her sister Marion Goetz, her brother-in-law Frank R. Goetz, M.D. and her grandniece Ashley Goetz. She is survived by her daughter Jennie J. Enholm (Bill); her nieces, Heidi Goetz, M.D. and Jodi Goetz; her nephews Bobby Goetz (Charlene) and Andy Goetz (Meredith), her grandchildren Casey Salas (Greg) and Kyle Enholm; and her great grandchild Phoebe Kane Salas. She also leaves eight grandnieces and grandnephews and many friends all whom she dearly loved. Dogs, friends, family and Catholic faith brought Helga great joy. For information about her memorial, which will be held July 22, please email jennieenholm@gmail.com .