Helen A. Kirby
HELEN A. KIRBY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Helen Ann Talbot was born June 18, 1936, in Dallas, Texas. She served in the Women’s Army Corps at Fort Ord in Monterey, California, from 1955 to 1956. While in the service, Helen worked with the radio and news office. She then attended the University of Oregon and completed her bachelor’s degree in education in only three years. She earned her master’s degree from Oregon State University in 1994, at the ripe young age of fifty-eight.
Helen’s true talent and passion was mentoring and guiding others. She raised five children and had ten grandchildren and often sought out roles as a “backup” mother to thousands throughout her lifetime. Her career as an elementary school teacher showcased her intelligence and led to many friendships of every age and background. People from all walks of life were drawn to her caring nature, charismatic energy, and wacky sense of humor.
Helen was a housemother for Sigma Chi and later Delta Upsilon Fraternities at Oregon State University. In 1994, she won the International Housemother of the Year Award. The Air Force ROTC program hired Helen in 1990 and she was awarded the 1998 Civilian of the Year Award. Helen’s curious nature and adventuresome spirit kept her moving throughout her lifetime. She lived each day to the fullest and went the extra mile to help anyone in need.
As an example, one winter, she saw a woman huddled behind a shopping center. She stopped to ask if she needed help and the woman replied she was waiting to see her husband in jail the next day and that she planned to stay there that night. Helen drove to a restaurant, picked up a meal (ordering milk to drink, as usual), then drove to a motel and paid for a night. She then drove back to the woman, gave her the meal, and took her to the motel so she could stay in a warm place for the night. Helen never knew the woman, never expected anything in return, and never told a soul.
Helen considered herself a “work in progress,” although anyone who knew her considered her a “masterpiece.” She was a life-long learner and a strong believer in education. She worked throughout her life to help people and will continue to do so through this scholarship gift.