Helen J. Farabee
Encyclopedia
Helen Jane Rehbein Farabee, known as Helen J. Farabee (November 12, 1934–July 28, 1988), was a 20th century advocate of improved mental health
and human services in Texas
. She was the first wife of State Senator Ray Farabee
(born 1932), an attorney originally from Wichita Falls
. Her younger son, David Lee Farabee
(born 1964), a Wichita Falls businessman, is a retiring member of the Texas House of Representatives
. An older son, Steven R. Farabee (born 1961), resides in Austin
.
Farabee was born in Appleton
, the seat of Outagamie County
in east central Wisconsin
, to Wilmer C. Rehbein (1902–1991) and Myra Grace Rehbein (1905–1991). Her parents succumbed within four months of each other some three years after her own death. Helen graduated in 1957 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She was the first female yet elected as a student body president at a Big Ten institution.
Through her travels in student government, she met Ray Farabee, the president of the student body at the University of Texas at Austin
. The couple wed on December 6, 1958. While her husband served in the United States Air Force
, Helen worked for the defunct Dallas Times-Herald (former competitor to the Dallas Morning News) and Better Homes and Gardens
magazine
. In Austin, she was an assistant dean of women at UT and worked with the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, while her husband completed his J.D.
law degree.
In 1961, the Farabees moved to Wichita Falls, the seat of Wichita County
in north Texas. She began voluntary work with the local mental health and mental retardation board and the Wichita Falls State Hospital. By 1965, she joined her fellow Democrat
and future lieutenant governor
, William P. Hobby, Jr.
, of Houston
to encourage the Texas State Legislature to establish the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, known as MHMR. From 1972-1974 and again in 1985, she was the president of the Texas Association of Mental Health. First Lady of the United States
Rosalyn Carter appointed her to the Public Committee on Mental Health. She also served on numerous special commissions in Texas and headed the State Mental Health Code Task Force from 1981–1983, which culminated its work in the revision of the 1957 Texas mental health code. The new laws, pushed to passage in the state Senate by her husband, were signed into law in 1983 by Democratic Governor
Mark Wells White.
Mrs. Farabee served on the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, another area of interest to her husband as well. She worked for improved child care, assistance to the elderly, and health care for the indigent. She also served during the White administration on the Governor's Commission for Women. In 1985, she was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame because of her exemplary work in volunteerism.
In 1988, shortly before her health deteriorated, Mrs. Farabee entered a pending special election to succeed her husband in Senate District 30 (Wichita Falls and a large geographic swath of West Texas
). However, a committee of Democratic county leaders in the district did not endorse her candidacy, and she withdrew from the race. Had she been chosen by the party leadership and elected by voters, she would not have lived to take the seat. Her husband’s successor was instead fellow Democrat Steve Carriker, a member of the Texas House from tiny Roby
in Fisher County.
Like her husband, Farabee was an active donor to the Democratic Party, including a $500 contribution to the Democratic National Convention
in 1984, when Texas swung strongly to the Republican
Reagan-Bush ticket.
Prior to her death, she worked for the Benedictine Health Resource Center in Austin. In June 1988 she was hospitalized in Austin because of phlebitis
and was found to have lung cancer
. She died in late July. Services were held at the First Presbyterian Church of Wichita Falls. A memorial service was also conducted at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Austin.
After her passing, the Austin State Hospital established the Helen Farabee Patient Education Scholarship. UT created the Helen Farabee Memorial Endowed Presidential Scholarship. There is also the Helen J. Farabee Public Policy Fellowships for graduate students offered by the Texas Mental Health Association, and the Helen Farabee Award from United Way. In February 1989, the Texas Senate, with her husband no longer a member, sponsored a special tribute in her honor. Her name adorns the Helen Farabee Regional MHMR Centers in Wichita Falls, Graham
, and Quanah
in Hardeman County
.
Ray Farabee remarried in 1991. His second wife, the former Mary Margaret Albright (born 1939), is also an active leader in civic affairs.
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
and human services in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. She was the first wife of State Senator Ray Farabee
Ray Farabee
Kenneth Ray Farabee, known as Ray Farabee , is a retired attorney in Austin, Texas, who served as a Democratic member of the Texas State Senate from Wichita Falls from 1975 to 1988. He is credited with the authorship of 245 Senate bills that became law during his 13-year tenure. In 1985, he was the...
(born 1932), an attorney originally from Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
. Her younger son, David Lee Farabee
David Farabee
David Lee Farabee is a former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 69...
(born 1964), a Wichita Falls businessman, is a retiring member of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
. An older son, Steven R. Farabee (born 1961), resides in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
.
Farabee was born in Appleton
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...
, the seat of Outagamie County
Outagamie County, Wisconsin
Outagamie is a county in the northeast region of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Its county seat is Appleton. As of the 2009 census estimate, its population was 177,155....
in east central Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, to Wilmer C. Rehbein (1902–1991) and Myra Grace Rehbein (1905–1991). Her parents succumbed within four months of each other some three years after her own death. Helen graduated in 1957 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She was the first female yet elected as a student body president at a Big Ten institution.
Through her travels in student government, she met Ray Farabee, the president of the student body at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. The couple wed on December 6, 1958. While her husband served in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, Helen worked for the defunct Dallas Times-Herald (former competitor to the Dallas Morning News) and Better Homes and Gardens
Better Homes and Gardens (magazine)
Better Homes and Gardens is the fourth best selling magazine in the United States. The editor in Chief is Gayle Butler. Better Homes and Gardens focuses on interests regarding homes, cooking, gardening, crafts, healthy living, decorating, and entertaining. The magazine is published 12 times per...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. In Austin, she was an assistant dean of women at UT and worked with the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, while her husband completed his J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
law degree.
In 1961, the Farabees moved to Wichita Falls, the seat of Wichita County
Wichita County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 131,664 people, 48,441 households, and 32,891 families residing in the county. The population density was 210 people per square mile . There were 53,304 housing units at an average density of 85 per square mile...
in north Texas. She began voluntary work with the local mental health and mental retardation board and the Wichita Falls State Hospital. By 1965, she joined her fellow Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and future lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of Texas
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...
, William P. Hobby, Jr.
William P. Hobby, Jr.
William Pettus “Bill” Hobby, Jr., is a Texas Democratic politician who served a record eighteen years as the 37th Lieutenant Governor...
, of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
to encourage the Texas State Legislature to establish the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, known as MHMR. From 1972-1974 and again in 1985, she was the president of the Texas Association of Mental Health. First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Rosalyn Carter appointed her to the Public Committee on Mental Health. She also served on numerous special commissions in Texas and headed the State Mental Health Code Task Force from 1981–1983, which culminated its work in the revision of the 1957 Texas mental health code. The new laws, pushed to passage in the state Senate by her husband, were signed into law in 1983 by Democratic Governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
Mark Wells White.
Mrs. Farabee served on the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, another area of interest to her husband as well. She worked for improved child care, assistance to the elderly, and health care for the indigent. She also served during the White administration on the Governor's Commission for Women. In 1985, she was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame because of her exemplary work in volunteerism.
In 1988, shortly before her health deteriorated, Mrs. Farabee entered a pending special election to succeed her husband in Senate District 30 (Wichita Falls and a large geographic swath of West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
). However, a committee of Democratic county leaders in the district did not endorse her candidacy, and she withdrew from the race. Had she been chosen by the party leadership and elected by voters, she would not have lived to take the seat. Her husband’s successor was instead fellow Democrat Steve Carriker, a member of the Texas House from tiny Roby
Roby, Texas
Roby is a city in and the county seat of Fisher County, Texas, United States. The population was 643 at the 2010 census.- History :In 1885, shortly after Fisher County was organized, a dispute arose between business partners from Mississippi and a town called Fisher. Both wanted their land to host...
in Fisher County.
Like her husband, Farabee was an active donor to the Democratic Party, including a $500 contribution to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
in 1984, when Texas swung strongly to the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Reagan-Bush ticket.
Prior to her death, she worked for the Benedictine Health Resource Center in Austin. In June 1988 she was hospitalized in Austin because of phlebitis
Phlebitis
Phlebitis is an inflammation of a vein, usually in the legs.When phlebitis is associated with the formation of blood clots , usually in the deep veins of the legs, the condition is called thrombophlebitis...
and was found to have lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. She died in late July. Services were held at the First Presbyterian Church of Wichita Falls. A memorial service was also conducted at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Austin.
After her passing, the Austin State Hospital established the Helen Farabee Patient Education Scholarship. UT created the Helen Farabee Memorial Endowed Presidential Scholarship. There is also the Helen J. Farabee Public Policy Fellowships for graduate students offered by the Texas Mental Health Association, and the Helen Farabee Award from United Way. In February 1989, the Texas Senate, with her husband no longer a member, sponsored a special tribute in her honor. Her name adorns the Helen Farabee Regional MHMR Centers in Wichita Falls, Graham
Graham, Texas
Graham is a city in north central Texas. It is the county seat of Young County, and as of the 2010 Census had a population of 8,903.-History:...
, and Quanah
Quanah, Texas
Quanah is a city in and the county seat of Hardeman County, Texas, United States, northwest of Fort Worth, and a few miles from the Oklahoma-Texas state line...
in Hardeman County
Hardeman County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,724 people, 1,943 households, and 1,319 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile . There were 2,358 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile...
.
Ray Farabee remarried in 1991. His second wife, the former Mary Margaret Albright (born 1939), is also an active leader in civic affairs.