Music educator Nora “Darlene” Mawson Helman earned recognition for her work with Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG), a prestigious organization for women educators. Photo Credit: Legacy.com
Many outstanding music teachers have chosen a career in education, much to the benefit of students in our country’s schools. One of these was Nora “Darlene” Mawson Helman, an award-winning music educator from Missouri.
Darlene was born near Archie, Missouri, on July 30, 1940. As the seventh daughter in her family, she was the younger of a set of identical twins. As a young woman, she earned both her Bachelor’s degree and her Master’s degree in Music Education from the University of Colorado.
In a career that spanned 33 years, Darlene taught middle school music, guitar, and choir in Independence, Missouri. She is remembered fondly by her former students. “Miss Mawson/Mrs. Helman was my music teacher in seventh through ninth grade. I remember sitting in awe of her voice and her piano playing,” recalls former student Denise Bogert. “She was a wonderful, kind, caring person and I still remember many of the things she taught me about music to this day,” Bogert continues.
In addition to her work in the classroom, the popular teacher was active in Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG), a prestigious International Honor Society for women educators. In that organization she served as the Missouri State President, the DKG Southwest Regional Choir Director, the Regional Convention Chair, the DKG International Music Chair, and the Hand Bell Director. Darlene arranged, composed, and published numerous choral compositions for DKG Conventions. As a member of the Independence Symphony Board of Directors, she implemented the annual Symphony’s “Young Artist Competition.” For all of these achievements, Darlene garnered the prestigious DKG Missouri State Achievement Award in 1993, and she was a recipient of the DKG Golden Gift national scholarship for Leadership Management in 1999.
Darlene Helman passed away on Nov. 3, 2015, in Independence, Missouri. In her honor, the Darlene Mawson Helman Music Education Scholarship has been established at the University of Central Missouri.
