Mrs. Helen Lee Hollingsworth Record

Helen Lee Hollingsworth Record, born on the 30th of June 1918 in Childress, Texas, passed away peacefully at her home on Sunday morning, the 28th of August 2011. She spent her formative years on the family farm homesteaded by her grandparents. At the age of 16, she attended Texas Tech University, earning a degree in Botany. She was also voted one of the 10 most beautiful women on campus. Just prior to World War II, she obtained her pilot’s license and was offered the job of training military pilots on a flight simulator. She never regretted choosing to marry instead.

Soon after marriage to her beloved Rush, they moved their family to Houston, Texas. They eventually built a house on an abandoned farm that she transformed into a beautiful park through her boundless knowledge and love of plants. A Renaissance woman, she learned handweaving, gardening, pottery, flower propagation and arranging, and traveled the world, enjoying snorkeling into her 70s. She loved reading and learning, passing this wonderful gift to her children and grandchildren. She was known for her intelligence, kindness, humility, and fabulously sassy sense of humor. She was a great cook and a truly wonderful mother.

For over 20 years, Helen and Rush attended the annual Rush and Helen Record Neuroscience Forum, a Baylor College of Medicine event used to recruit graduate student researchers. Due to her science background, Helen understood and enjoyed the lectures and research projects presented by students and faculty. She always said, "These people are so bright, it hurts yours eyes!" She had a keen interest in Neuroscience research and loved encouraging and supporting the efforts of those involved.

When Alzheimer’s began to steal her brilliant mind, she made a new life for herself at Amazing Place, a wellness center for those with memory loss. She enjoyed the many friends she made there and all the activities, especially playing bridge, the complex ins and outs of which she never forgot.

She was predeceased by her parents, Lee Berry and Daisy Williams Hollingsworth, as well as a stillborn sister. She was also predeceased by her treasured husband of 64 years, Rush Hamil Record; and by her children, Jane Williams Record, Jenny Lee Record, and Rush Hollingsworth Record.

She is fondly remembered by her son James Record, his wife Carol, and their son Stephen; and by daughter Anne Bunting and her daughters Helen and Jane.

The last four years of her life were full and active due to the efforts of her wonderful caregivers: Vivian Taylor, Evelyn Marsh, Bess Ugorji, and our cousin, Peggy Boston. Words can’t express the debt we owe them for their kind, loving, and sensitive care.

In celebration of her life, friends are cordially invited to gather with the family and share remembrances of Helen during a reception and visitation from four o’clock in the afternoon until seven o’clock in the evening on Monday, the 5th of September, in the Library and Grand Foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

In accordance with her wishes, there will not be a memorial service. Later this week, the family is to gather for a private interment at Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, contributions in Helen Record’s memory may be directed to Baylor College of Medicine for the Rush and Helen Record Neuroscience Forum Endowment, Attn: Kirsten Schachter, Office of Development and Advancement, 1 Baylor Plaza, MS: BCM160, Houston, TX, 77030; or to Amazing Place (a wellness center for those facing memory loss), 3735 Drexel Dr., Houston, TX, 77027.