Helen was born May 19, 1913, the ninth child of 15 born to James Henry and Elizabeth Clark Clark of Big Clifty, Ky. Helen attended the public school in Grayson County and the summer CCD classes taught by the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. At age 17 she entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph. On March 19, 1931, Helen received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Elizabeth Henry.
For her first mission, Sister Elizabeth Henry was assigned as housekeeper, in 1933, for the Sisters teaching at St. Joseph School in Owensboro. Later assignments took her to Saint Bernard Academy, Nebraska City, Neb.; Sacred Heart Academy, Waterflow, N.M.; and St. Columba School in Louisville, Ky. Each of these large schools had several teaching Sisters, sometimes 20 or more. Sister Elizabeth Henry contributed in large measure to the Sisters’ success by caring graciously for their need for food and fresh linens and creating a welcoming, homelike atmosphere in the convent. From 1956 to 1961 she served as director of the Diet Kitchen at the Motherhouse preparing meals for the sick and infirm Sisters.
While at St. Columba in 1973, where on three separate occasions she served a total of 19 years, Sister Elizabeth Henry became ill with interstitial fibrosis, which led to cardiac arrest. She returned to Mount Saint Joseph infirmary living with the constant use of oxygen. She died January 27, 1975. Father Thomas Clark, a first cousin, was among the concelebrants of the funeral Mass. Sister’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery.