Helen K. Persson

Helen K. Persson, age 95, died June 17, 2013 at her home in Lost Tree Village where she has resided for the past 39 years. Her husband, Alf T. (Ted) Persson predeceased her in 2006.

Helen was born and raised in Bethlehem, PA, by her parents who were Russian immigrants. She was raised with a strong faith in God and a love for music.

Helen was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Nursing School. She joined the Navy during World War II and served in the Navy Nurse Corps where she rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. She served her country in Pearl Harbor after the December 1941 attack. While stationed as a Navy nurse in California, Helen’s commanding officer heard her sing. He encouraged her to audition for the San Francisco Opera Chorus, which resulted in a main stage lead role opposite Lily Pons in Deilbes’ Lakmé. She performed at many Opera Houses in the United States and Europe. Helen often remarked that she had three careers in her life, Nursing, Navy, and Operatic.

A lifelong lover of opera, Helen was a staunch supporter of Palm Beach Opera for more than 20 years. Her vision and generous sponsorships made numerous main stage opera productions and concerts possible. In recognition of her longtime support and service on the Board of Directors, Palm Beach Opera is dedicating the 2014 season to Helen K. Persson.

Her love of the arts inspired her to support the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, where she served on the Board of Directors from 1992 to 2007. In 2007 she was elected a Life Trustee. The Persson Rehearsal Hall and the Helen K. Persson Society, the Kravis Center’s permanent endowment, are both named after her.

Helen was also a generous supporter of the music program at Palm Beach Atlantic University, where the recital hall on campus is named in her honor. The Helen K. Persson Recital Hall includes studios, practice space, classrooms, and offices. She was awarded an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, by Palm Beach Atlantic University in 2001.

Helen was a supporter of Colgate University. She and her late husband Ted, who was a Trustee of Colgate, made the lead gift for the construction of Persson Hall, which is the home to the Economics and Political Science Departments. The Helen K. Persson Auditorium in that building is dedicated in her honor. She established the A. Theodore and Helen K. Persson Endowment Fund at Colgate and was recently honored by the naming of the Helen K. Persson Suite at the Colgate Inn. She was presented an honorary degree by Colgate University, Doctor of Fine Arts, in 1984.

Her commitment to community health and healing presaged her strong support of Sloan-Kettering in New York, Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, and, most recently, Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Massachusetts. For over 20 years, Helen gave her time as a Volunteer at Good Samaritan Medical Center. She also served on the Board of Directors at Good Samaritan Medical Center where the Labor Delivery Recovery Postpartum area and the Division of Nursing both bear her name. She established the Eminent Scholar Chair in Community Caring at Florida Atlantic University College of Nursing

and was honored by her induction into the University’s chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Nursing Honor Society.

Among the many awards Helen received are: the Women of Distinction Award from Palm Beach Atlantic University, the Outstanding Philanthropist Award from the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, and the 2010 Muse Award as Civic Leader, presented by the Palm Beach County Cultural Council. In 2012, she was awarded the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Her survivors include: nieces and nephews, David Karpelenia, Daniel Karpelenia, Daria K. Stowell, Denise Ghattas, Kim Karpelenia, and Michael Karpelenia, Jr.; sister-in-law, Loretta Karpelenia; and her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Helen and Charles Hall.

A memorial service conducted by the Reverend Doctor Ken Mahanes will be held on Saturday, June 22, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. at the Lost Tree Chapel in Lost Tree Village, 11149 Turtle Beach Road, North Palm Beach. Her remains will be buried on the Colgate University campus in Hamilton, New York, next to her husband, Ted.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Palm Beach Atlantic University, Colgate University, The Palm Beach Opera, or The Kravis Center. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Dorsey-E. Earl Smith Memory Gardens Funeral Home, 3041 Kirk Road, Lake Worth, Florida 33461.