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IN LOVING MEMORY OF

Helena M.

Helena M. Smith Profile Photo

Smith

October 6, 2011

Obituary

Dr. Helena M. Smith, beloved sister and aunt, died at age 87 on October 6, 2011 at St. Andrews Village in Indiana PA. Helena was born on a farm in Conemaugh Township to George and Vernetta (Stiffey) Smith. She was a lifelong educator and led a life filled with devotion to family, academic achievement, intellectual curiosity, and service to others. Helena began her educational journey by attending a one room school house and graduated from Blairsville High School. She completed her undergraduate studies at Indiana State Teachers College in 1947. Helena started her teaching career at Pine Township High School in Heilwood PA. Helena also taught at Kittanning High School before becoming a faculty member at Mansfield State Teachers College. She earned a Master's degree in 1951 and her Doctor of Philosophy in English in 1959 at the Pennsylvania State University. Helena joined the faculty of the English department at Indiana State Teacher's College in 1958 and remained on the faculty for 26 years as the institution grew to become Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She relished teaching and challenging her students. At IUP, she assisted with writing the University Senate constitution and helped establish the PhD program in English. She enjoyed planning and serving as a hostess for Dr. John Worthen's investiture as university president. Her academic career and service to IUP was recognized in 1982 with the Distinguished Alumni Award. For decades, Helena hosted an annual IUP Homecoming Party for her family and friends. Helena was always delighted to welcome relatives attending IUP to her home for a home cooked meal. Other students and friends were invited to these occasions which featured lively conversation as well as vegetables that Helena canned from her bountiful garden. Helena often enriched family events with poetry and other compositions she had written to commemorate significant birthdays and anniversaries. She was a member of Ebenezer Presbyterian Church in Lewisville PA. She began attending Ebenezer with her family after the St. Patrick's Day flood of 1936 damaged the church of her early childhood in Livermore PA. Helena served Ebenezer as an Elder, taught Sunday school, led youth groups, and prepared food for church dinners. In 1971, Helena was the first woman elected Moderator of the Presbytery of Kiskiminetas which encompassed the Presbyterian Churches in a four county area. An enthusiastic traveler, she enjoyed experiencing other lands and cultures and visited six continents during her lifetime. Helena observed that political turmoil seemed to occur where she traveled. This included Buenos Aires in 1970, Grenada in the early 80's, and Leningrad in 1991. Helena was in Beijing in 1989 when the Goddess of Democracy statue was constructed in Tiananmen Square. Helena considered her acts of service to be "just doing the things that need to be done". At her retirement community, she volunteered to read to others, shared slide presentations of her travels, and accompanied wheelchair residents at the mall and county fair. Helena became well known as a book reviewer by providing insightful and entertaining book reviews to various book clubs. Helena also had great fun organizing a reunion of the Duncan school ?"" the one room school house of her youth. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Edith Elwell and husband Howard, and her brother, Robert Smith. She is survived by her sisters Isabel Lucas and Annabel Smith, her brothers, Rev. John Cyrus Smith, Harold and Lillian Smith, and Walter and Barbara Smith, and her Sister-in-Law Rose Smith. She is also survived by nineteen nieces and nephews, as well as twenty four great nieces and nephews and twenty great-great nieces and nephews. Friends will be received on Saturday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 at the Bowser-Minich Funeral Home, Indiana. A funeral service will be held Sunday at Ebenzer Presbyterian Church, Lewisville, at 2 P.M. with the Rev. Susan Porch Lantz officiating . Interment will be made in the Ebenzer Cemetery. For those who wish to celebrate and memorialize Helena's life, the family requests consideration of a donation to Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Newport Rd., Clarksburg, PA 15725.

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