Posted 2:49 am Friday, May 11, 2012
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Pioneering Tyler Realtor Campbell Dies At Age 96
By CASEY MURPHY
Business Editor
Business Editor
Longtime Realtor Helen Knight Campbell, who was remembered by peers as one of the finest the Tyler industry has ever seen, died Tuesday. She was 96.
Her accomplishments included being the first woman to both serve as director of the Texas Association of Realtors and to receive the Realtor of the Year Award of Tyler in 1971.
Ben Fitzgerald has been selling real estate in Tyler for 57 years and has known Mrs. Campbell and her family for the same amount of time, he said.
"She was one of the finest Realtors Tyler ever had," he said. "For many years she was recognized and appreciated by all other Realtors ... We certainly hate to lose her from my profession."
Born on April 18, 1916, in Tyler, Mrs. Campbell was the only child of Helen Simmons Knight and Walter H. Knight, home builder and former mayor of Tyler.
She attended Tyler High School, Tyler Junior College, University of St. Louis, Mary Hardin Baylor College, Baylor University, where she earned two bachelor's degrees, and Columbia University, where she earned a master's degree in music education. She also attended Southern Methodist University and Stephen F. Austin State University and graduated from the Texas Association of Realtors Institute.
Her careers included playing in the East Texas Symphony Orchestra, teaching music privately and in public schools, operating a private kindergarten, substitute teaching and being owner/broker of Helen Campbell Realtors, which was started by her grandfather J.R. Knight in 1903. She joined the firm in 1946.
"We're certainly thinking about her family in a time like this," Fitzgerald said Thursday of Mrs. Campbell. "She was a lovely lady and an expert at what she did in the realty world."
During her real estate career, which began with owning two rent houses by the time she graduated from college, Mrs. Campbell served as director of the Texas Association of Realtors, president of Women's Council of Realtors local chapter and state president in 1971, according to her obituary. She was also Women's Council of Realtors regional governor and president of the Tyler Board of Realtors in 1984. She received several state and local awards and designations.
Mrs. Campbell was a charter member of Green Acres Baptist Church and a member of the Joy Sunday School Class.
Mrs. Campbell was predeceased by her parents, husband Karl N. Campbell, a real estate appraiser whom she married in 1942; and her twin daughter Karol K.C. Holland.
She is survived by twin daughter, Karen K.C. Boldt and five grandchildren. She had 14 great-grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held for Mrs. Campbell at 3 p.m. Sunday in the chapel of Burks Walter Tippit with the Rev. Dr. Paul Powell officiating. Private burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery. Visitation will follow the service. Donations in memory of Mrs. Campbell may be sent to Living Alternatives, 430 S. Vine Ave. or The Hospice of East Texas Foundation, 4111 University Blvd.
