Helen Pauline Smith was born on August 6, 1946, in Bartlesville, Okla. Her parents were David Thomas Smith and Mary Elizabeth Boltz Smith. She had two brothers, Francis T. Smith and James D. Smith.
Her family attended St. John’s Church where Helen was baptized on September 15, 1946. She made her first communion on May 9, 1954, and was confirmed on May 26, 1957.
The first time Helen thought about religious life was in second grade when she was asked, “What are you going to be when you grow up?” After much thought, she answered, “A teacher is what I want to be,” and then added, “a nun that teaches.”
True to her word, she entered the Ursuline community after graduating from Ursuline Academy in 1964. She became a novice in January 1965 and was scheduled to make her temporary vows in January 1967. Shortly before she was to make temporary vows, she began to question her vocation. She left the community in January 1967.
During this time away from the community, Helen worked and took classes. She graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in education and earned a master’s degree from the University of Kansas in educational administration.
On August 15, 1979, Helen reentered the community and began her career of teaching. Over the years she was an educator and parish minister in Kansas and served in elected Ursuline leadership, including serving as a councilor for the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. In 2019, she began serving as manager for the Mount Saint Joseph Gift Shop.
Sister Helen, 73, died Monday, September 2, 2019, at Mount Saint Joseph, in her 42nd year of religious life. The funeral Mass was on Friday, September 6, 2019, at 10:30 a.m. in the Motherhouse Chapel with burial in the convent cemetery.