Helen G. Sellers

SELLERS, Helen G.
Kalamazoo Passed away on November 29, 2007, at Bronson Hospital, of pneumonia. Helen was born March 20, 1912, in Bemidji and grew up in Thief River Falls, MN, among other places. She was the daughter of Seymour and Agnes Phelps Sellers. She devoted herself to the study of English literature while attending Michigan State University B.A., the University of Wisconsin M.A., and Oxford University in England. She received a second M.A. from Northwestern University. Helen taught English in Greenville, Michigan, where she was the head of the English Department. She began a college teaching career in 1947 as an Instructor of English at Western Michigan University, was promoted to Assistant Professor in l949, and taught a wide range of courses, specializing in modern British literature. Helen treasured the exchange of ideas and was well respected by students, several of whom have maintained contact with her over these many years. She retired in l974, after 27 years at W.M.U. and traveled to Asia, Europe, and South America with her sister, Ione. Helen was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Randal Sellers, and sister, Ione Sellers Merseth, each of whom she loved deeply. Helen is remembered with gratitude and affection by former students and friends. Tennyson?s lines, ?Our echoes roll from soul to soul / And grow forever and forever,? are a fitting epitaph for this pioneering woman. Cremation has taken place. There will be no visitation or services. Memorial contributions in Helen Sellers? memory may be made to the Medallion Scholarship Fund at WMU. Arrangements by Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Memorial Chapel, 622 S. Burdick Street. www.langelands.com 343-1508