Helen Hamilton Bross
Helen Hamilton Bross
Helen Hamilton Bross passed away peacefully at home July 6, 2010 at the age of 92. Born Helen Hurd Hamilton, March 2, 1918, to George and Elisabeth Hamilton in Philadelphia, PA; she graduated Bryn Mawr College in 1939 — physics major; received her PhD. from Yale — philosophy major. She returned to Columbia University and received her MS in mathematics. She met her husband, John R. Bross at Yale. They were married 59 years before John’s death in 2001.
Helen was a Quaker from her Bryn Mawr days. She and John were married under the auspices of New Haven Monthly Meeting, New Haven, Connecticut, December 26, 1941, at a Congregational Church in Oak Park, Illinois. She attended Friends meetings wherever they lived. She was also secretary to Montana Gathering of Friends and enjoyed their retreats.
While attending Yale, she worked in a mental health facility in New Haven, Connecticut. She also taught at Vanderbilt. From 1950 she and John taught at Talladega College until they moved to Montana in 1964, where they both taught at Rocky Mountain College. Helen taught Physics, Philosophy, and Math until her retirement in the 70s. Devoted to education and peace, John and Helen established both the John & Helen Bross Scholarship Fund and the John & Helen Bross Peace Institute at Rocky Mountain College.
Both civil rights and human rights issues were extremely important to them both before and after their retirement. Retirement saw them travel extensively abroad, starting with China in 1980. They belonged to the Friendship Force, which is the grass roots peace effort started by Jimmy Carter, enabling citizens of all countries to make exchange visits.
She played the violin and viola. She played in the Billings Symphony for thirty years. In the evenings she and John would play duets: she played the viola; he played the piano. After moving to Moses Lake in 2000, Helen started attending the Moses Lake United Methodist Church, where she took up playing bells in the bell choir; which she thoroughly enjoyed.
She and John also enjoyed bird watching. She was a member of the Moses Lake Audubon Society as well as the Billings Audubon Society. Christmas bird counting was always enjoyable.
She is survived by two sisters, Ann Nagler (Ken) of Maryland, Kathy Smith (Rae) of Illinois; three children, Carol A Patterson, Moses Lake, WA — grandson Tony Patterson and granddaughter Larissa Martin; John H. Bross (Jill), Moses Lake, WA — grandsons Nick, Greg, David and Michael; and Georgia K. Ruebsamen, Kennewick, WA — grandson Jeremiah; and seven great-grandchildren.
In accordance with her wishes, her body has been donated to University of Washington Medical School. A memorial service is planned for August 13, 2010, at the Moses Lake United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the John and Helen Bross scholarship fund at Rocky Mountain College, Billings MT.
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