Helen E. Walsh; Former Head Nutritionist for California

Helen E. Walsh, 91, educator and former chief nutritionist for the state of California. Walsh was chief of the bureau of nutrition for the California Department of Public Health from 1947 to 1971. In that capacity, she advised state and local health departments in maternal, child and adult health, geriatrics, handicapped children’s services, dental health, health education, sanitation and tuberculosis control. Also a lecturer at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, she helped establish the school’s public health nutrition program. In 1969, Walsh helped lead a panel on community nutrition at the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health and headed a major study on malnutrition in California. She was a founder and president of the Society for Nutrition Education, and was president of the American Dietetic Assn. and the California Dietetic Assn. She also served on the National Academy of Sciences’ Food and Nutrition Board and was on the governing council of the American Public Health Assn. A native of Des Moines, she was educated at Iowa State University and Columbia University. Before taking her state position, Walsh was advisor to the Los Angeles County’s Health Department and its Tuberculosis and Health Assn. During World War II, Walsh was commissioned a lieutenant commander in the Coast Guard. On June 29 in Greenbrae, Calif.