Helen A Guthrie

Helen Andrews Guthrie, 92, of State College, PA, Fort Myers, FL, and Hershey, PA passed away on Saturday, February 24, 2018 at Country Meadows in Hershey, PA. Surrounded by her family, Helen left us in quiet peacefulness, but her love remains with her family, friends and colleagues.

Helen was born Sept. 25, 1925 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, daughter of David and Helen (Sweet) Andrews and sister to Keith and Betty. Her father, a high school teacher, saved money to make sure she could attend college, although he felt some consternation that Helen chose to major in Home Economics and learn about things he was sure Helen’s Mother had already taught her quite adequately. At the time no one had inkling just where her decision would lead.

Helen went on to graduate from The University of Western Ontario with a B.S. in Home Economics (1946); an M.S. in Nutrition from Michigan State University (1948); and a Ph. D. in Physiology from the University of Hawaii (1968). She also holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Western Ontario and an honorary D. Sc. from the Guelph University in Ontario.

On June 4, 1949, Helen married a handsome young psychology professor, George Guthrie, and for the next 54 years they shared their life adventures together. They started their teaching careers at the Pennsylvania State University, and moved to State College, PA. where they built a new home on Garner Street. Their adventure reached a new level of excitement when they added three active children just five years apart; Barb, Jane and Jim.

For the next twenty years their careers grew along with their children, and included adventures doing research and living in the Philippines and Hawaii, as well as two trips around the world as a family.

Helen’s children, Barbara Ford (Russ) of Hershey, PA., Jane Singletary (Clay) of Pittsburgh, PA., and Jim Guthrie (Sally) of Denver, CO. will miss her, but know that her love is still with them. Helen is also survived by 10 grandchildren; Jennifer Szelewa (Scott) of Harrisburg, PA., Joshua Ford of Camp Hill, PA., Lisa Murphy (Dwayne) of Palmyra, PA, Zachary Ford (Erin) of Leesburg, VA., Jordan Ford (Dara) of State College, PA., Kendra Singletary of Kapolei, HI., Morgan Singletary (Katie) of Hopewell, PA., Caitlin Singletary of Pittsburgh, PA., McRuer “Mac” Guthrie of Denver, CO., and Sydney Guthrie of Washington, DC. Helen also has eight great-grandchildren; Riley, Keira, Alyssa, Michael, James, Thomas, Remy and Rory. To the end, Helen was never happier than when she could get hugs from her grandchildren and great-grandchildren who loved her very much.

So what about that “Home Economics” profession of which her father was so skeptical?

Helen spent forty years on the faculty at Penn State, serving for fourteen years as Head of the Nutrition Department in the College of Health and Human Development was professor Emerita of Nutrition at the Pennsylvania State University, and has an Endowed Chair in the Nutrition Department named in her honor. Helen had an active role in the Society of Nutrition Education and the American Institute of Nutrition, serving as president of both organizations. She was on the Board of Editors of the Journal of American Dietetics Association and the Journal of Nutrition Education and was an Editor of Nutrition Today. She served on the Board of Trustees of the International Life Sciences Institute/Nutrition Foundation and was vice president on the Board of the Heinz Institute for Nutritional Science. She also served as secretary, treasurer and Board Member of the National Nutrition Consortium. Helen served on the Board of Directors of the CIA (Culinary Institute of America), and was the first woman to serve on the Board of Directors of Nabisco Brands.

Helen also received many honors including the Borden Award in Human Nutrition research from the American Home Economic Association, the Elvejhem award for Public Services from the American Institute of Nutrition and the Atwater award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She is a distinguished alumna of the College of Human Ecology at Michigan State University and a recipient of the Research Career Award from the College of Health and Human Development at the Pennsylvania State University.

Her research interests in infant nutrition, nutrition education, nutritional assessment and international nutrition were reported in over 100 publications. She authored seven editions of a college textbook Introductory Nutrition and co-authored the book Human Nutrition. She served on many university and professional committees including the Food and Nutrition Board and the Recommended Dietary Allowances Committee of the National Academy of Sciences.

Having raised a family with George and built a career that made a contribution to so many, Helen and George’s adventure next turned to a well-deserved retirement. They moved to Fort Myers, Florida where they could, from the balcony of their condo, see the water and the beautiful sunsets they so much enjoyed throughout their lives. After George died in 2003, Helen continued to live in Fort Myers playing tennis, golf, bridge, and traveling. Most of all she enjoyed the many visits from family and friends.

Sadly, Helen’s adventure’s final chapter was clouded by Alzheimer’s, a nasty disease that slowly took away many of her memories. However, she still would recognize family, and on many occasions smiled and laughed as she always had. She also continued to demonstrate her sense of humor as evidenced by her quick comebacks to comments. In 2014 Helen moved to Hershey, PA to be closer to family and to receive necessary care.

The family would like to thank the care providers at Country Meadows of Hershey and the staff of Heartland Hospice who went above and beyond to make her final years enjoyable and comfortable.

In 2000 Helen and George endowed an Honors Scholarship to benefit students in the Nutrition Department at Penn State. Memorial contributions to this scholarship fund may be made by mail to Penn State University, 1 Old Main, University Park, Pa. 16802, with your instruction that your contribution be added to the Guthrie Honors Scholarship in the Department of Nutrition at Penn State; or alternatively, an online contribution can be made to Little Children of the World (a non-profit children’s social ministry in the Philippines) at www.littlechildren.org .

The family will have a celebration of Helen’s life in the summer of 2018 at a date to be determined.