Helen Farr

Helen Horne Farr

August 12,1923 ~ April 23, 2021

Helen Horne Farr, 97, passed peacefully in her home on April 23, 2021. She was born in Smithfield, UT, on August 12, 1923, to Aaron Smith and Mary Toolson Horne. She loved to tell the story of birth as her mother was hemorrhaging and Helen was so small, the doctor turned his attention to save her mother. Her grandmother Toolson swaddled her in a shoebox, placed her in the warm wood oven and saved her life.

Her father was a schoolteacher who not only taught but was a beloved coach in Ogden City Schools including Ogden High. Helen loved sports and was an avid fan of baseball, college football and basketball. She had season tickets for Weber State games and listened to all of the games on the radio when she could no longer attend the games. She was also an avid Utah Jazz fan.

Helen attended Ogden City Schools and graduated from the “million dollar” Ogden High School in 1941. She enrolled in the Dee Hospital School of Nursing that fall and attended Weber College for her academic courses. After her first year at Weber most of the boys went off to war and she was elected Student Body President. After graduating with her nursing diploma 1946 she had enough academic credits to obtain her BS in Nursing from the University of Utah in one quarter and was initiated in Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. She became a nursing supervisor at the Dee Hospital in 1947 and left in 1950 to care for her growing family. Helen remained an Ogden resident for the rest of her life. She especially enjoyed co-chairing her 70th high school reunion committee.

Helen met her future husband, Russell “Bill” Farr, on a blind date with some friends. They were married on February 21, 1947 in Long Beach California. They had five children, Paul (DeAnna), Craig (Linda), Brent (Nola), Randall and Carol Chandler. She had 20 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.

After being a busy stay at home mother for many years she became a part time instructor in the Saint Benedict’s Hospital Nursing School in 1956 and joined the new Nursing Department at Weber College in 1959 where she was the Coordinator of Nursing from 1959 to 1987. She was named Nursing Professor of the year many times in her 28 years at Weber. She earned her Masters degree at the University of Utah in 1970 and rose through the academic ranks to become a full Professor in 1976, as the first faculty member in the School of Allied Health to achieve that. In 1975 she and several other nursing colleagues enrolled in a special program at Brigham Young University for educators to earn doctoral degrees during summer semesters. She graduated with an EdD degree in 1978. Her love of education was extended to her children who all earned college degrees with two children attaining doctoral degrees.

Helen was the first Chairman of The Commission on Status of Women at Weber State College (1972 to 1976) which adjusts all woman salaries to be equivalent to their male peers. She was the State Chairman of the Utah Commission on Status of Women (1974) which included the other major universities in Utah and became the Chair of Weber’s Tenure Committee in 1981.  In 1975 she was named Chairman of the First International Women’s Year Conference in Utah and Helen was honored as the Outstanding Nurse Educator of Utah by the Student Nurses Association of Utah in 1986 and she retired from Weber State at the end of 1986.

Weber State honored her with the Crystal Crest Award in 1984, Professor of the Year in 1985, the Centennial Medallion in 1987 and in 2010 the Weber Alumni Association awarded her Lewis W. Shurtliff Award for her Contributions to Education.

Helen was very active in nursing associations locally, statewide and nationally. She held every office in District 2 of the Utah State Nurses Association, served as Chair of the Legislative and Resources Committees and was honored as Utah Nurse of the Year in 1976. Helen was also a Utah Delegate three times to the American Nurses Association Conventions. From 1972 to 1992 Helen was a part time Nursing Supervisor at St. Benedict’s Hospital.

Helen and Bill were early visitors to China in 1982 loved their travels to Hawaii.

After Helen retired at the end of 1986, her son Paul was killed in an automobile accident in January 1987 and her husband Bill passed in March 1987. Those loses were devastating to Helen, but she persevered by volunteering on boards for many organizations including the American Red Cross, Women’s Council of the Stewart Rehabilitation Center at McKay-Dee Hospital, Weber State Emeriti Faculty Association, Weber State Alumni Board, Thomas D. Dee Memorial Hospital Nurse Alumni Association, Golden Hours Center Foundation.

Helen and Bill were members of many couple’s bridge clubs and after Bill died she became very active in the Ogden Country Club duplicate bridge league and continued as a member of several women’s bridge clubs. She loved antiques was a member of Questers and enjoyed many antiquing trips in nearby states. Helen especially admired Elinor Roosevelt and spent time studying her life in New York. Helen was known for her cheerfulness and curiosity, and enjoyed many trips with friends throughout Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, the Caribbean and Thailand.

In addition to her husband and son, Helen was also preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Elaine Liddell Morin, and a grandson Ryan Farr.

The family thanks the staff at Avamere at Mountain Ridge for their kindness and the nurses and social workers at Encompass Hospice for the care they provided.

Helen requested to be cremated and because of COVID-19, no memorial service will be held. Her cremains will be buried next to her husband in the Ogden City Cemetery. Cremation entrusted to Lindquist's Ogden Mortuary.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of her to Weber State University.