1995: Helen Lowenfield Chandler

The Junior League of San Angelo

Causes/Issue Area(s): The Arts, Diversity, Education, Child Welfare

What’s her impact?

Helen Lowenfield "Tilly" Chandler received her first Junior League award in 1958 as a Provisional of the Junior League of El Paso for her work on a tough assignment. One of her first placements was in an understaffed child welfare office. Seeing the problems caused by lack of funding, Tilly wrote her first grant proposal for a special adoptions department, which the agency used to place more than 30 children in the first 18 months of its operation.

A fourth-generation Texan, she moved to San Angelo in the late 1970s and, after transferring to the Junior League of San Angelo, soon became known as "a one-woman gang" for her work in education, diversity, civic pride, art museums, and historical celebrations. Among her many other roles, Tilly co-chaired the town's centennial celebration in 1989 and developed tourism programs, including a cowboy breakfast.