Helene S. Baumann

Helene S. Baumann, died July 22nd at Duke Medical Center after a 2.5 year battle with ovarian cancer. She was courageous and dignified until the end.
A memorial service will be held in the Duke Gardens this Fall.
Helene was born in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1941. She married her childhood sweetheart, Gilbert Baumann in 1963. They immigrated to the U.S. in 1968, shortly after he obtained his DSc at ETH in Zurich. Helene managed a pair of bookstores in Switzerland and once in the States she decided to combine her language skills and love of knowledge into a career.
She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Duke University before obtaining a masters degree from NCCU's School of Library and Information Sciences. She was the Western European and African Studies Librarian for much of her 27 year career at Duke University.
A special fund has been set up by the family to continue that legacy. Donations in hermemory can be made to: Duke University Library, Box 90193, 220 Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Helene also had a great love for the outdoors. She joined the Sierra Club in the late 1970's and eventually served within the organization on a national level, helping to facilitate more than 200 wilderness outings.
Helene was 65.
She is survived by her husband, two children, and three sisters.