Helen Halstead
February 21, 1932 — October 31, 2017
Helen Lucile Halstead, APRN, Ph.D. was born Feb. 21, 1932 to Mildred Lucile Kemp & Harry P. Burson in Inglewood, California. Raised on a farm near Hutchinson, she attended a one-room country school, and graduated from Hutchinson High School. After she completed medical training in Kansas City and Minneapolis, she settled in Wichita, Kansas where she enjoyed a long career as a nurse-educator.
Helen was a dedicated professional who loved teaching. She trained many nurses during her 26 years on the faculty at Wichita State University's School of Nursing. Her research specialties were aging health, the effects of loss, and the spiritual needs of patients. Prior to her years at WSU, she was a nurse and educator at Grace Hospital in Hutchinson and at Wesley Hospital in Wichita - both Kansas institutions. Her professional memberships included: Sigma Theta Tau, American National Nurses Association, National League for Nursing, Nurses Christian Fellowship, and the National Council on the Aging. She supported women's education through longtime memberships in PEO Chapter FY (Wichita) and the American Association of University Women.
Helen had fond allegiances to three Kansas public universities. She graduated with a B.S.N. in nursing from the University of Kansas in 1955. She earned a Ph.D. in Adult Education at Kansas State University. And she loved her career at Wichita State University.
Dedication to community service was fundamental to her life philosophy. She supported Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. She taught Bible study at Presbyterian Manor for thirty years and served on their ethics committee. She was elected President of the Kansas Arthritis Foundation, among other roles. With the American Red Cross, she taught first aid and personal safety. She served on the board of Life Ventures (formerly the East Wichita Shepherd's Center) and frequently taught classes there. At First United Methodist Church-Wichita, she started a Parish Nursing Program that served the local community.
Her interests and compassion reached beyond our borders. She and her husband Norman provided financial support to five different children in Latin America under the sponsorship of Compassion International. Helen traveled to Mexico and Guatemala twice on medical mission trips.
A faithful Christian, Helen went to live in God's loving presence on Oct 31, 2017. Survivors include her husband of 62 years, Norman Laurence Halstead; two nieces, Rev. Joy Simpson and Teresa Craver; three nephews, Stephen Simpson, Larry Flint and Jon Flint; and eight great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by two sisters, Madalyn (Johnson) Simpson and Verna (Burson) Lawson, and a brother Don Burson. In addition to her mother Lucile, she credited her grandfather, the Rev. Lorin Kemp, Sr., with the greatest influence on her life.
Two memorials have been established to honor Helen:
Helen Halstead Nursing Scholarship c/o Wichita State University Foundation, 1845 Fairmount, campus box 2, Wichita, KS 67260-0002. Online giving at: https://foundation.wichita.edu/current-memorials
Immanuel Mission (a Christian Navajo school), P.O Box 1080, Teec Nos Pos, AZ 86514.
Services for Helen L. Halstead:
Visitation – Nov. 17, 6-8 pm, Broadway Mortuary, 1147 S. Broadway, Wichita, KS.
Memorial service – Nov. 18, 2:30 at Northside Bible Chapel, 4510 E. 61 st St. North, Kechi, KS.
Visitation
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm, Friday, November 17, 2017 Place: Broadway Mortuary1147 S. Broadway St., Wichita, KS 67211
Memorial Service
Time: 2:30pm, Saturday, November 18, 2017 Place: Northside Bible Church4510 E. 61st St. N., Kechi, KS 67067
Memorials
Helen Halstead Endowed Nursing Scholarshipc/o Wichita State University Foundation
1845 N. Fairmount
Campus Box 2
Wichita, KS 67260-0002
https://foundation.wichita.edu/current-memorials
Immanuel Mission
(A Christian Navajo School)
P.O. Box 1080
Teec Nos Pos, AZ 86514