Dorothy Helgeson White

Helgy White, Taos artist, passed away peacefully on September 2, 2011 at her home in Taos, New Mexico. Dorothy Jean Helgeson White, known by friends and family as 'Helgy, was born on November 18, 1925 in Eastland, Texas to parents Wiley and Alma Moring Helgeson. Joinerville, Texas, where she grew up, was considered home until she left to attend Baylor School of Nursing in Dallas, Texas where she gradated as an RN in 1943. Helgys husband, Robert Lee (Bob) White, Jr., a Grand Prairie, Texas native preceded her death in 1997 after 50 years of marriage. The couple moved to Port Arthur, Texas where their first child was born. In 1955 Helgy and Bob moved to Lake Jackson, Texas where their other two children were born, completing the family. In 1967 Helgy and the children followed Bob to Houston, so he could begin his career as a harbor pilot for the Houston Pilots Association. Through these years Helgy served as a school nurse in the communities where the family resided. She began painting in 1971 and was able to retire from nursing to pursue this passion full-time in the mid-seventies. Her objective was to share the beauty found in our world. A winner of national awards and juried competitions, her work was shown in galleries across the United States. The prestigious Alla Prima International, American Impressionist Society, and Plein Aire Painters of America are among the professional organizations that honored Helgy with membership. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Robert Lee White Jr. and her son, Wiley Robert White. She is survived by two daughters, Gwendolyn White and Keyna Lurline Kester; grandchildren, Walter Leland Scott, Kayla Ann Leever, Carrie Aletta Kester, and Dale Edward Kester, Jr.; great-grandchildren, Karl Calvin Cardon and Robert Sawyer Leever; and cousin, Jan Moring. A loving and nurturing mother, Helgy will always be cherished and remembered especially during Taos sunsets when she would gather all to consume Gods glorious and masterfully painted heavens as they set in the western sky. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those who would like to honor Helgy make a contribution to the Houston Civic Arts Association at 5202 Bissonnet, Bellaire, Texas 77401, where a special fund will be established to promote art education for budding artists. A celebration of Helgys life took place on September 9, 2011 at her home in Taos. Her ashes will be interred next to her husband and son in November in Atoy, Texas.