Helen Fields Woullard Collection

Helen Fields Woullard was an educator who taught for 45 years in the public schools of Mississippi, including Hattiesburg, Palmer's Crossing, Richton, Meridian, Canton, Vicksburg and others. A native of Canton, Mississippi, she was born in 1923, the daughter of Willie and Alice Fields, and she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1957, Mrs. Woullard and Howard Snograss organized the first Black Bathing Beauty Pageant to be held on the campus of Jackson State University. The pageant promoted African American talent throughout the state.

Mrs. Woullard was married to Clyde Woullard, Sr., and they were the parents of four children: LaDon, Phyllis, LaDonna, and Burnadette. She was a member of Antioch Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where she taught Sunday School and served as Youth Choir Matron and Mentor. As an educator, she was keenly aware of community needs, and volunteered her services to numerous community organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the March of Dimes, the Heart Fund Drive, and the Hattiesburg Summer Recreation Program. She also served on the Kamper Park Board, the Vernon Dahmer Park Board, and was a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. In 1975, she was voted the most outstanding Black Citizen in the state for 1974-1975. After a long and impressive career, she retired from teaching in 1987.

Mrs. Woullard died on September 15, 1989, and is interred in Highland cemetery, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She is fondly remembered by her students, one of whom characterized her as "a lady of compassion with a heart of gold." After her death, the Helen Fields Woullard Scholarship Foundation was established in her honor.