Helen "Helsie" Wright

Helen Wright was a student at the college from 1941 to 1945. She took Introductory to Advanced Weaving with Anni Albers, 1942-1944. She participated in the membership committee, and in many plays,. In 1945 she worked as an office secretary.

She noted in her application that she was Interested in working under Anni Albers specifically, and Albers was her advisor. She transfered from Bennett Junior College. Most professors wrote poor notes of her and didn't find her to be a good fit, but she did make it to senior examinations in the arts.

Relationships

Married BMC student, Robert H. Marden, 1944 (Buncombe County, Asheville, NC marriage license)

Obituary

Helen W. Marden died on January 27, 2017, in Concord, MA, following a lengthy illness. She was born Helen Grace Wright, October 29, 1919, in Watertown, MA, to parents Warren Mead Wright and Helen Robinson Wright. She attended The Cambridge School of Weston and Black Mountain College, in North Carolina. As a young child, Helen contracted tuberculosis, and was not expected to fully recover. Apparently, the doctors underestimated her stubborn determination. In 1944, Helen married Robert H. Marden, a fellow-student at Black Mountain College. The couple later divorced. After Robert finished military service in World War ll, the couple lived in Cambridge, MA. In 1950-51, they built a home at 30 Kendall Common Rd, in Weston, MA. They had two children. The family spent many summers at the Wright family summer home, at Fairhaven Bay, Concord. In 2004, Helen moved to West Concord. Later, she relocated to Newbury Court, a life-care facility adjacent to Emerson Hospital, in Concord. She remained independent and drove her own car until she reached her nineties. Helen leaves a son, Christopher Marden, of Colorado Springs, CO; a granddaughter, Jessica Marden, of Sunderland, MA; two step-grandchildren: John Aziz, of Groton, MA, and Heather Katie Goddard, of Groton; two sisters: Julianne Wright Neaverson, of Bloomfield, CT, and Emmalie Wright Millard, of Dallas, TX; and lifelong friends from Weston. She was predeceased in 2012 by a son, Nathaniel Marden; and in 2005 by her eldest sister, Mary Wright Cherington.