PASADENA CITY COLLEGE
Office of the President
':MM:ttM
TO
FROM
SUBJECT
DATE
FACULTY AND/
JACK SCOTT
IN MEMORI^^f - Helen Domine Barnes
October 11, 1991
Helen Domine Barnes, a retired teacher of English at PCC, passed away at her
home in Laguna Hills on September 30, 1991 from lung cancer. When
chemotherapy failed to halt the disease, she refused to continue with the
treatment, quietly accepting the outcome and, fortunately, did not have to
endure a great deal of suffering.
Dr. Rae Ballard wrote the following about Mrs. Barnes: "I remember Helen with
great affection; when I was a student teacher at PCC, my Master Teacher was
Bea Rodenburg, but because the two were close friends, Helen became my second
mentor. She was warm, witty, decisive, and an unapologetic liberal in the
finest sense of that term. While it may seem odd to mention her political
orientation here, it goes a long way toward describing her. Outspoken about
her convictions whether McCarthyism or more benign isms were in vogue, she
believed deeply that people freely exposed to competing ideologies would
ultimately choose the one most nurturing for the human spirit. In teaching
English she sought to give her students much more than a practical skill; she
tried to broaden their appreciation of the possibilities and to sharpen their
ability to make their choices wisely."
Helen Barnes graduated in 1931 from the University of Michigan. She worked at
the Huntington Library, Lockheed and the Hertels Department Store until she
began a career as a public school teacher in 1948. She taught English at Muir
Junior College and then at Pasadena City College until her retirement in 1970.
In 1971 she was appointed to the Los Angeles County Grand Jury. After her
year of service, she moved to Leisure World and began traveling extensively.
Mrs. Barnes is survived by her sister, Julie Casebeer; brother-in-law, Arthur
Casebeer; two sons, David Barnes and Robert Barnes; daughter-in-law, Jill
Barnes; and grandchildren, Robert, Jr., Christopher, Suzanne and Kelly.
Services will be private but the family has suggested memorial contributions
can be made to the English Department at Pasadena City College.
