Helen Domonkos Papers

Helen Edwards was born in West Bedford, Ohio, on December 12, 1898, the youngest child of the Reverend Darius L. and Mary Houghton Edwards. The family moved frequently as the Reverend Edwards served various parishes in northeast Ohio before finally settling in Delaware, Ohio. There Helen Edwards graduated from Delaware High School in 1916 and from Ohio Wesleyan University (AB Speech) in 1920. In 1927, she earned an MS degree in Physical Education from Wellesley College in Boston. Her area of specialization was dance, the field in which she later pursued additional work at the University of Wisconsin, New York University, Bennington College (Bennington, Vermont), and the University of Munich in Germany. She studied with such well-known teachers as Martha Graham (d. April 1, 1991), Margaret H'Doubler and Charles Weidman (d. July 15, 1975).

In 1922, Helen Edwards accepted an appointment in Physical Education Department at Oberlin College where she remained until her retirement in 1965. She immediately returned to teach full-time for another three years. (Instructor, 1922-1926; assistant professor, 1926-1947; associate professor, 1947-1958; professor, 1958-1965.)

On June 24, 1933, Helen Edwards married Imre Domonkos, an instructor in German at Oberlin College, 1931-1933. They had no children, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1963.

Mrs. Domonkos held memberships in state and national physical education organizations where she worked to advance physical education for women. She was also active in community affairs. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Oberlin, and was a leader in the women's fellowship. For several years, she was a member of the Oberlin-Wellington area board of Church Women United. She was a  long-time member of the American Association of University Women, serving as President of the Oberlin branch, 1962-1964. In 1989, the local branch contributed to the national fellowship fund in her name. She was also active in the Oberlin Woman's Club and the Farm Bureau Council; for several years she served on the Pittsfield (Ohio) Board of Education. She was active in many campaigns to keep Oberlin free of liquor. In 1957, she helped to establish the Delphine Hanna Foundation; her initial financial gift along with the gifts of other staff members, former students and graduates grew into a memorial fund used to enrich the programs of the Physical Education department.

Following several months of failing health, Helen Edwards Domonkos died in Oberlin on August 16, 1990.

Sources Consulted

Biographical Dictionary of Dance. 1982. New York: Schirmer.

Helen Edwards Domonkos, Oberlin College Biographical Form, undated.

Imre Domonkos, Ohio College Biographical Form, undated.

"Helen Edwards Domonkos". Oberlin, Ohio News Tribune. August 21, 1990.

International Encyclopedia of Dance. v. 3. 1998. New York: Oxford University Press.

Emma L. Layman. Memorial Tribute to Helen Edwards Domonkos. August 22, 1990.

Note: The above materials are located in the following: Faculty files of Helen and Imre Domonkos; Papers of Helen Domonkos.

Note written by Elizabeth Brinkman.