Louise was born on Oct. 12, 1902, one of the five children of John and Helena Walker Thompson of Uniontown, Ky. She completed grammar school at St. Vincent Academy in Union County. Louise completed her high school education at Mount Saint Joseph Academy. In September 1918, at age 18, she entered the novitiate, and received the Ursuline habit on March 19, 1919. Louise was given the name Sister Helene.
Sister Helene’s first assignment was to St. Elizabeth School at Curdsville, Ky., in 1919. Other assignments took her to various parochial and public schools in Kentucky that were staffed by Mount Saint Joseph Ursulines: New Haven, Flaherty, Rome, Clementsville, Jeffersontown, and St. Mary. She served three years in Nebraska (St. James), then returned to Kentucky at Nw Haven, Louisville (St. Columba), and Mount Saint Joseph. She spent a school year in Indiana (Jeffersonville), then returned to Kentucky at Holy Cross and Louisville (St. Columba).
Beginning in 1937, Sister Helene was assigned as the full-time music teacher in the following schools: Owensboro (St. Joseph), Flaherty, and New Haven, Ky., Nebraska City, Neb., Lebanon, Ky., (St. Charles), Mount Saint Joseph Academy, New Mexico (Waterflow and San Fidel), Louisville (St. Columba and St. James), Missouri (Seven Holy Founders, Affton), and Hardinsburg, Ky. Sister Helene experienced great success as a music teacher. Her students performed with honors as soloists on piano, band instruments, and voice, or as members of glee clubs, choirs, or bands.
In 1967, Sister Helene retired from teaching music and served as catechist at St. Peter Catholic Parish in Ordway, Colo., for three years and at Acoma Indian Mission, Acoma, N.M., for seven years. In her second year at Acoma, Sister Helene was afflicted with an inflammation of the artery above her eye. The prescribed medication caused a gradual crippling. Despite the pain, she continued with catechetical work until she became incapacitated with severe loss of body movement. She returned to Mount Saint Joseph in 1978. In the early morning of December 30 of that year, Sister suffered a fatal heart attack at Mercy Hospital, Owensboro.
On January 2, 1979, Father Anthony Ziegler, and Father Bernard Barnes, chaplain, celebrated the funeral Mass. Sister Helene’s remains rest in the convent cemetery.