Helen Markes, In Appreciation

By M. A. Wells, PhD

I have known Helen for many years. Initially, we met through a community pool, where our children swam and I gained infamy as a person who didn’t like to lose at tennis, although I often did. In 1979 I was looking for a secretary, and my wife, Mary, suggested to Helen that she should apply. Helen was rather unsure, whether because of my demeanor (or lack thereof) on the tennis court, or because she had not worked for a while, or a combination of both, remains unclear to this day. It was an interesting interview, with Helen trying to convince me I shouldn’t hire her. However, I am usually a good judge of people, and I was convinced she would do a great job. So, I offered her the job and she accepted. At this point, my lab was in the College of Medicine and Helen worked half-time. She was, as all would expect, a great asset in the lab, and quickly fit into the department. After we moved to BioSciences West, Helen chose to work full-time – half-time for me and half-time for Hans Bohnert – I will leave it to Helen to tell that tale! When I became Department Head in 1986, Helen agreed to become my Administrative Associate – thank heavens! She quickly adapted to the more complex duties of keeping my calendar, setting appointments, preparing promotion and tenure dossiers, and the million other things she did to make it possible for me to be Department Head and maintain an active research group. Only someone who has held that position can fully appreciate what an important role she plays in the Department Head’s life. Helen took on some monumental tasks while I was Head, most notably putting together Biology-21, a blueprint for the development of biology, which was a massive undertaking (that unfortunately was never implemented), and helping me write up the PAIP report for Humanities, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. These latter documents were an attempt to evaluate all units in the University, but were, sadly, never used. She also managed my research grants.

In the years since I retired as Department Head, Helen has played a more and more important role in the administration of the Department. Particularly after Christa Sitz retired, Helen was the person with the long-term memory of what had gone before.

I consider Helen a close friend, and she is still an honorary member of the lab group, one who is invited to all social affairs, although she refuses to eat sushi. I am sure I couldn’t have survived for nine years as Department Head without Helen - she just managed things so efficiently. Now that it is time to bid farewell, we will all miss Helen, but want to wish her all the best in her retirement. She has certainly earned it, many times over.