Obituary: IRA Past President Helen Huus

IRA Past President Helen Huus died on February 2 in Anacortes, Washington, at the age of 87. Her professional career included teaching in a one-room rural school in Worth County, Iowa; for two years at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan; for 20 years at the University of Pennsylvania; and for 11 years at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. While earning her master's degree and doctorate at the University of Chicago, for two years she held the Walgreen Foundation Scholarship and served as research assistant to William S. Gray, author of the famous "Dick and Jane" reading series.

Huus herself was widely published, writing professional books and numerous journal articles, as well as serving as coauthor of the Field Literature Series for the elementary grades. She served on IRA's Board of Directors in the mid 1960s and as IRA President in 1969-1970. After her retirement from education, she wrote and implemented a curriculum in literature for the elementary grades for the State of Missouri.

During World War II, Huus enlisted in the WAVES and attended Midshipman School at Smith College in Northhampton, Massachusetts. As an Ensign, she was in charge of the Educational Services Office in Washington, D.C. After the war, she stayed in the Naval Reserve and was retired as Commander, USNR, in 1973.