Editor’s note: To make the online memorials special, we accept articles written by someone in the branch. Include fond memories, appreciation for her activities in the branch, whether she was an art, letters or music member, and something about her creative works and achievements. Always include date and age at time of death. Please also send photos of the member and of her work, or commentary about her creativity. Submissions for the In Memoriam webpage follow the deadlines for the The Pen Woman magazine.
We honor the lives of these departed Pen Women…
Helen Grace Sims Smaw
January 19, 1935 – September 29, 2025
Helen Grace Sims Smaw was an accomplished writer, playwright, composer, and educator. She was recognized for her exceptional talents as a lyricist and music composer and was a valued member of the National League of American Pen Women, Inc. for many years. She served as president of the Nashville Branch in 1992 and was both a letters and music member, joining in 1978 and 1996, respectively. Her notable musical compositions include “O Delta Kappa Gamma,” “O Perfect Love,” and “Angel’s Story.” She was also a published author of Bible study materials for the Southern Baptist Convention and taught adult Bible study classes.
A graduate of Belmont University with a major in English and a minor in foreign languages, Helen Grace Sims Smaw studied violin at the Chautauqua Institution and Vanderbilt University and performed with the Nashville Symphony. Her numerous awards and honors, including an NLAPW Honorary Prize for a hymn, reflect her dedication and impact. Though modest about her achievements, her legacy is celebrated by colleagues and family, with her awards displayed in the library by Dr. Sunny Zank.
Her funeral service, which she personally composed, was held on October 19, 2025.
Archives (by NLAPW date published):
- Diana Kaye Obe
- Pat Ellson
- Eugénie Rocherolle
- Donna Solin
- Francella T. Hall
- Pauline Rae (Anderson) Mounsey
- Audry Louise Lynch
- Bea Hartman
- Mary Louise “ML” Hopson
- Marnelle Rosalie White
- Norma Slavit
- ShaRon Haugen
- Nancy Nesvik
- Maureen Cue
- Phyllis Coniglio
- Carol Mann
- Janet Collins
- Margaret Helen Bennett
- Nina Adkins
- Sandra Quinlan
- Barbara Chamberlain
- Anne Bonner
- Bernice Delores Strand Reid
- Nancy Klotz
- Patricia Dennis
- Caryl Huffaker
- Betty Prisendorf
- Mary Joan Meagher
- Marcy Von Kohorn
- Cyndi Marble
- Mary Lou Taylor
- Judith McGinn
- Irene Sedeora
- Jean Elizabeth Holmes
- JoAnna O’Keefe
- Camilla Bozzoli Rudolph
- Polly Craig
- Rosemary Wood Dodd
- Jane Nowlin
- Christina Laurie
- Lois Batchelor Howard
- Lois Perdue
- Jeanne Dupre
- Ruth B. Muir
- Lee VanSiclen Tatem
- Barbara Ann Daly
- Catherine Margaret Rayburn
- Shirley Waters
- Ima Pastula
- Judy Allen
- Beverly Ann Hargis Fleming
- Judy Eggart
- Carol David
- Halide Smith
- Rita Toppa Busch
- Jane McDonald Johnson
- Shirley May Tabler
- Frances Tunnell Carter
- Jacqueline Campbell
- Pauline Dages
- Mary Elizabeth McKenna
- Rosemary Potter
- Dr. Myra F. Levick
- Ann Terry Davis
- Thelma H. Urich
- Genevieve “Jenny” Gumptertz
- Bette Veronica Miller
- Judy Bingman
- Nancy Bloomer Deussen
- Marcia Chellis Kay
- Catherine Wilding Atkinson
- Colleen Stanley Bare
- Cokie Roberts
- Carolyn Alexander Fleming, Pensacola Branch
- Kathleen Langan, Greenwich Connecticut Branch
- Pearl Newton Rook, Central New York Branch
- Diana Carol (Howe) Etheridge, Satellite Beach Florida Branch
- Yvonne Kirkpatrick Willie, Birmingham Branch (Alabama)
- Dorothy Timmons, 101, Art Member, Des Moines Branch
- Barbara Pierce Bush, Honorary Member
- Grace Lieberman, Modesto Branch
- Mary Elizabeth Perry Hildebrand, member-at-large
- Muriel C. Freeman, former national president, Alexandria Branch
- Janet Schulz, Stockton-Lodi Branch
- Diane Louise Wold, Modesto Branch
- Virginia Dall, Modesto Branch
- Cheri M. Bentley-Beckman, Palm Springs Branch
- Idell Weiss, art member, Golden Gate Marin Branch
- Kay O. Cornelius, Huntsville Branch
- Stella “Maurine” Vance Geldmacher, Southeast Louisiana Branch
- Arlene Montgomery Spencer, Indianapolis Branch
- Gloria Huttner Ross, Southeast Louisiana Branch
- Katie Wainwright, Southeast Louisiana Branch
- Liana M. Moonie, Greenwich, CT Branch
- Lois A. Charles, Diamond State, DE Branch
- Carolyn Burton Landers, Atlanta Branch
- Anne Lorraine Macdonald, Greenwich, CT Branch
- Pam Babcock, La Jolla, CA Branch
- Lois Duncan, Sarasota, FL Branch
- Harriet Foster-Parrish, Nashville Branch
- Donna Freckmann, Pensacola FL Branch
- Gayle Norton Hornsby, Nashville Branch
- Dorothy Kishibay, Connecticut Pen Women
- G. Arlene Silva Mattos, Modesto, CA Branch
- Kathleen Alice Neal, Atlanta Branch
- Margaret Lynch Siskow, Iowa City, IA Branch
- Emily Virginia Blake Vail, Atlanta Branch