Biography

Helen Mary Thomas was born to Calvin Henry and Sophia Paulina Nickum Thomas in Greeley, Colorado on June 16, 1876. She graduated from Greeley High School; Colorado State Teachers College, B.A., 1898; Walnut Hill School; Wellesley College, B.A., 1904; and the New York State Library School. She served as a librarian at the University of Michigan, 1906-1913; Michigan State Library, 1913-1917; assistant to Theodore Wesley Koch, Library of Congress, 1917-1919; Northwestern University School of Commerce, 1919-1928; and Greeley Public Library, 1929-1935. She helped organize the Weld County Library (Greeley, Colorado) and was active in the W.T.K. Club, A.A.U.W., Greeley Garden Club, and Union Colony Pioneer Society. She died on August 7, 1955. Sources: Chamblin, Thomas S., ed. "Calvin Henry Thomas," p. 795. In The Historical Encyclopedia of Colorado. Denver, CO: Colorado Historical Association, [1960].; "Thomas, Helen Mary," vol. 2, p. 1195. In American Women 1935-1940: A Composite Biographical Dictionary. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1981..; "Miss Helen Thomas Dies Here Sunday," Greeley Tribune, Aug. 8, 1955, p. 1.