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May 29, 2008 - The Times-Picayune
Helen Brown, 86, selfless giver to all
By John Pope
Helen Brown, who grew up in St. Elizabeth's Home for Girls and then spent 67 years doing volunteer work for the Uptown orphanage and its residents, died Saturday at Touro Infirmary of complications from an aneurysm. She was 86.
Miss Brown, a Catholic Charities volunteer known to all as "Miss Helen," was a selfless individual who, friends said, was always giving to others. She kept chocolates in her desk for co-workers, she always carried dog and cat food so she could feed strays on the street, she called City Hall when neighbors had problems, and she habitually gave away her presents.
"You couldn't give Miss Helen a present that she didn't give away to somebody else," said Gordon Wadge, Catholic Charities' president and chief executive officer, who saw Miss Brown ask whether someone might like an expensive sweater he had just given her.
Her selflessness didn't stop with her death; Miss Brown donated her body to LSU's medical school, said Sister Anthony Barczykowski, Catholic Charities' former director.
Miss Brown, a lifelong New Orleanian, came to St. Elizabeth's when she was orphaned at 11. Eight years later, she left when she landed a clerical job with Illinois Central Railroad, but she didn't go far: She moved to a nearby apartment on Prytania Street.
Even though Miss Brown held a job, she always found time to accompany St. Elizabeth's residents to doctor's appointments, movies and Carnival parades. She was on hand to help with homework and give advice to several generations of the children she called "her girls," said Margaret Dubuisson, spokeswoman for Catholic Charities.
After Miss Brown retired, she spent three eight-hour days each week at the orphanage. When the Napoleon Avenue residence was closed in 1989 and consolidated with Hope Haven in Marrero, Miss Brown volunteered at Catholic Charities' Howard Avenue headquarters, Barczykowski said.
When Hurricane Katrina threatened, Miss Brown refused to evacuate. Although her Uptown home was spared, she was told after the storm that she had to leave, Barczykowski said, and the National Guard put her on an airplane to Kalamazoo, Mich., which was her first flight.
She had been scheduled to receive Catholic Charities USA's Volunteer of the Year Award, but Barczykowski had to accept the honor for her because, she said, nobody knew for several months where Miss Brown had wound up.
The mystery was solved when Miss Brown eventually mentioned her Catholic Charities tie to someone in Kalamazoo who contacted New Orleans and arranged for her return.
Dubuisson explained the delay: "She was so modest that she didn't think anybody would be looking for her or concerned about her."
Survivors include a brother, Earl M. Brown.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. |
