Helen Ilene Anderson

Helen Anderson's full life ended on Saturday, May 30, 2026, after 102 years. She had an incredibly sharp mind, a remarkable memory, and her curiosity never dimmed.

She was born on December 5, 1923, on a small farm in Chula, Missouri. She was a product of the Great Depression and knew the value of saving everything. Through good grades, she earned a scholarship and became a proud graduate of Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri. World War II reshaped Helen's college years, when a Navy V-12 training unit arrived and took over the campus. Classes adapted to meet the Navy's needs, and Helen accelerated her studies and graduated in three years. After teaching in a rural Missouri school, she decided to join friends in Denver and found employment at Fitzsimons Army Hospital. There she met the love of her life, Henry, a recovering war veteran. They married in 1947 and spent one frigid winter in North Dakota before relocating to a warmer climate to support Henry's health.

In 1948 Helen and Henry stepped off the train in New Mexico. Little did they know they would fall in love with the Land of Enchantment and spend the rest of their lives exploring their new home. Helen found work with the Quartermaster at Sandia Base and subsequently earned her master's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1953. After ten years of marriage, she and Henry welcomed their only child, a daughter, Susan, in 1957.

Community was central to Helen's life. In 1949, she joined the Albuquerque branch of AAUW, the American Association of University Women, which became an important part of her life. Helen served AAUW as both the Albuquerque Branch President and the State Division President. AAUW brought her lifelong friends while funding graduate fellowships for women.

In 1960, Helen began her teaching career, educating countless junior high students in mathematics at Grant, McKinley, and Cleveland before retiring from Del Norte High School. Over the years, she and Henry made countless friends - and she outlived most of them. Together they traveled far beyond their adopted state, visiting 104 countries and all fifty states.