HELENE SUE EDWARDS RUSH 85, of Little Rock passed away Monday, March 2, 2020 in Little Rock.  She was predeceased in death by her parents, Carl and Dorothy Brooks Edwards; infant sister, Dorothy Jane.  Helene was passionate about gardening, working in live theater, reading, cats, and her church, Unitarian Universal Church of Little Rock.

Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Helene lived with her parents in San Angelo, Fort Worth, Dallas, Sherman,and Amarillo, Texas. She attended Amarillo Junior College and graduated in 1957 from Texas Tech University in Lubbock with a degree in English with journalism minor.

Shortly after graduation, Helene married Arkansan Jerry Duane Rush in Amarillo and the couple moved to St. Louis in 1959 they then moved to Little Rock. They had no children and were divorced in 1974.

Helene worked as a copywriter in the advertising department of the Christian Board of Publication in St. Louis; as a reporter for the Amarillo Daily; News & Globe Times in Killeen Texas; Daily Herald; The Arkansas Democrat before joining the KATV, Channel 7, staff in 1960 as a continuity writer. In 1967 she went to work in the Public Relations department of Arkansas Farm Bureau.

At Farm Bureau, she edited the organization's monthly membership tabloid for 15 years; then designed, wrote and produced the organization's promotional and educational materials. She retired in 1999.

Helene was active in the Literacy Council of Pulaski County from its beginning in 1969 until 1981. In addition to tutoring, she served on the board and as vice president. In 1977-78, she was president of the Arkansas Literacy Council.

She was a member of the International Association of Business Communicators (lABC) and served as president. As an Arkansas Press Women member, she acted as fiscal agent, researcher and contributing writer for the organization's book "Horizon - 100 Arkansas Women of Achievement, " published in 1980 under a grant from the Arkansas Endowment for the Humanities.

Helene won top prizes from the Pulaski County and Arkansas Historical Societies in 1983 and 1984 for a paper on the response of local churches to the 1957 school integration crisis. She was editor of OURS newspaper, the publication of the Arkansas Women's Rights organization in 1983-84.

Helene was a long-time member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock, served on its board and was president in 1984-85.

A theater enthusiast, Helene acted and directed for the Community Theater of Little Rock and The Weekend Theater. She served on the boards of the Regional Theater of Central Arkansas and the Community Theater of Little Rock, and was a member of The Weekend Theater staff.

Helene formed The Phoenix Theater Company in 1998 in order to produce plays dealing with women's lives, which she felt at the time were ignored by other theaters in the community. She continued to produce plays through 2006, with a hiatus from 2001 through 2005.

Helene is survived by four cousins and their families; Tom Tomshany of Tulsa, Maggie Kelley of New Richmond, Ohio, Kathy Lorton of Kansas City, Kansas, Dick Tattershall of Harlingen, Texas; special friends, Glennda Porbeck, Sue McDonald, DeAnn Shields-Marley, Jan Bowen; the people of UUCLR.

She asked us to express her thanks to those who were kind to her during her lifetime.  A memorial service will be held 1:00 P.M. April 11, 2020 at the Unitarian Universalist Church at 1818 Reservoir Road in Little Rock.  Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Cremation Services of Arkansas (501)313-5431.