Long Happy Life: Helen Besley Overington '28

Release date: April 23, 2008 |

Helen Besley Overington is happy to discuss the key to a long and happy life.

"It's simple," she says. And she means that literally. Overington, who this July will turn 101, eats well, abstains from alcohol, and surrounds herself with loved ones. "I started with good genes," she says. "And I have always lived simply."

The centenarian, who graduated from Goucher College in 1928 and earned a master's degree in cytology from Cornell University, has fond memories of her undergraduate days. She was an avid athlete and particularly enjoyed playing field hockey and basketball.

"I was on all the teams. At the end of my days at Goucher, they gave me a lovely sweater with a big 'G' on it. Some of my happiest days were as an athlete at Goucher."

Overington still keeps fit. The Waynesboro,  PA, resident exercises twice a day with five-pound weights. She also regularly attends church, participates in a monthly book group, and stays abreast of current events by watching "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."

While at Cornell, Overington studied with Barbara McClintock, who in 1983 won a Nobel Prize for her work in genetics. After completing her graduate work, Overington chose a career in teaching. "I thought teaching was teh most important thing I could do," she says. She taught for 12 years in the Maryland public school system.

In 1943, she married noted ornithologist Robert Bruce Overington. The couple had five children--one of whom, Elizabeth Overington Knupp, graduated from Goucher in 1967.

"Mom was very proud of her association with Goucher and definitely encouraged me to go there," says Knupp. "She felt she received a very good education there. ... and she financially helped several girls from Waynesboro, her hometown, attend Goucher."

Over the years, Overington gave back to her community in other ways. Her accomplishments included being the co-founder of the Waynesboro Day Care Center and of a local literacy program.

"Mom always instilled in her children the importance of helping others," Knupp says. "She was a wonderful role model."

Overington credits her passion for science, the outdoors, and teaching to her father, Fred Wilson Besley. Considered a visionary in the field of conservation, Besley was Maryland's first state forester and recorded the state's first public forest land. "I am pleased that forestry has com so far since it was established in 1907." She says. "I am pleased that my father's legacy has continued."

These days, Overington is keeping busy visiting with her children, 12 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren--and is looking forward to her 80th Goucher Reunion in May. "It's on my calendar," she says.