DUDLEY, Helen

The Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, Arizona Wednesday, April 22, 2015 Helen Dudley died on April 14, 2015, at her home while surrounded by family. In her 96 years with us she was fortunate to live two lives, one in Chicago and one in Wickenburg. Most are familiar with her second, the activities that led to being named recipient of the prestigious Henry Award and receipt of the Town of Wickenburg Official Proclamation for being “a very special citizen”. But her first life paved the way to Wickenburg and is just as, if not more, impressive. At a time when many women were expected to stay home, Helen joined the Army and went to serve in Egypt. After two years overseas, she returned to her native Chicago and, not one to conform to ordinary, decided to go to law school. Upon completing her studies at John Marshall Law School, Helen was admitted to the Illinois Bar Association in June 1946. Before providing free legal counseling in Wickenburg, she gave assistance to the Chicago Volunteer Legal Foundation and served as an unpaid attorney for two Chicago-area clinics. All the while, she worked full time for the U.S. Veteran’s Administration before eventually retiring from the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board in 1974. Always a champion for women, Helen was a lifetime member of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. Upon moving to Wickenburg, Helen served on the Wickenburg Town Council (1978-1986), and served as president of the Wickenburg Community Services Corporation, an endowed non-profit charity (1976-2000). She was also active in a number of hobby and civic organizations including the Wickenburg Homeowners and Residents Association, which she organized and served as president; the Wickenburg Gem and Mineral Society, where she was elected president for two terms; became a member of the Maricopa County Community Development Advisory Committee; assisted in founding the Friends of the Wickenburg Public Library, where she served as president for a number of years, assisted in an expansion project that doubled the library’s size and established programs for children’s summer reading, adult reading, computer and internet access programs, along with organizing library volunteers. These are just a few reasons she was awarded the Town of Wickenburg Official Proclamation on Aug. 6, 2001. A “special citizen” she was, indeed. Surviving family and friends will hold a memorial service at 11 a.m. on May 1 at Coffinger Park in Wickenburg. Friends are invited to share their memories, and lunch will be served after the ceremony. In lieu of flowers, Helen would prefer donations be made to either the Friends of the Wickenburg Public Library, Hospice of the Valley, or to the charity of your choice. Arrangements by David’s Desert Chapel.