Helen Finn
(June 4, 1904 – July 6, 1943)
Helen Dorothy Finn (née Warner) was the first woman Director (president) of LASFS, and possibly of any fan organization, elected in 1941. Forrest J Ackerman, writing in Shangri L'Affaires 2 (January 1942, p. 1), said she was “Virtually swept into Office.” She had previously been the club Librarian.
4E reported that Helen had begun reading sf with Edgar Rice Burroughs’ books and Argosy magazine in 1921 and “almost was published herself” in Weird Tales in the early 1930s. She was in Mexico when she read about LASFS and joined after returning to LA. Her favorite old-time writers were A. Merritt and Otis Adelbert Kline; of newer sf, she enjoyed Henry Kuttner and Robert A. Heinlein, but disliked Isaac Asimov.
She bought nearly all of Art Joquel’s sf collection, but had to auction it off weeks later when she moved to Washington, DC, for a short time.
Photo by Russ Hodgkins.
She was born in Indiana, and married John Finn (b. April 9, 1888) in 1922. Her two daughters were also LASFans, and married within the club, Peggy to William Crawford and Dorothy (briefly) to Henry Hasse. Helen was the older sister of another club member, Lora Crozetti. Even her mother and 5-year-old niece attended club events. (A report on the 1945 LASFS Fanquet in Shangri-L'Affaires 23 (February 1945, p. 11) noted: “Introduced as '3 generations of fans' were Lora Crozetti, her Mother--Mrs Eva Roberson, and her daughter--Jeanne Crozetti.”)
Shangri-L'Affaires 7 (December 1942, p. 2) recapped in a year’s end summary:
Helen, Peggy, and Dorothy Finn leave LA for WashingtonDC along with Henry Hasse and Bill Crawford. Helen sells stf collection, resigns from Directrixship of LASFS.
However, the same issue reported Helen had returned to L.A.
The California Death Index records that Helen Finn died on July 6, 1943; we have not found a report of her death in any fan publications, which seems odd considering her position in LASFS. In fact, the clubzine Shangri-L'Affaires’s August 1943 issue (p. 4 and 7) mentions her presence at events in May, but says nothing about her death.
- Stench [1942]
| Person | 1904—1943 |
| This is a biography page. Please extend it by adding more information about the person, such as fanzines and apazines published, awards, clubs, conventions worked on, GoHships, impact on fandom, external links, anecdotes, etc. See Standards for People and The Naming of Names. |
