(by Bettina Lande)

Helen Hartnell passed away in Berlin on September 18. I knew she had health issues but we did have a plan to be 70 together in another year, which to the surprise of both of us she didn’t have.

Many will know Helen from numerous EUU retreats. As a law professor, she had a heavy teaching load right up to this Fall semester at the Berlin Free University, and over the years at numerous other institutions. It was hard to catch up with her, especially at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, her second home. But for many summers she taught closer to our home, at Nanterre University.

I met Helen in 1994 when she was teaching in Budapest and spoke at the IARF conference in Kolosvar. I still have those conference papers on Religion and Human Rights in Europe if you’d like to see them. Also see site on CaringBridge (ed. note: Look for Helen Hartnell and then scroll down to early posts (late August, early September) to get an idea of how her many friends remembered her.)