Helen Dilley Barsalou passed away on June 3, 2024 at Our Lady of Peace Nursing Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. She was loving to all who knew her, and was a creative force in this world. Her family was with her when she passed.

Helen was born on September 20, 1932 in Waubay, South Dakota, the second of four daughters (Romona, Helen, Mary, Roberta), of Percy and Gertrude Dilley.

Mr. Dilley owned a successful auto repair garage, was the town’s fire chief and was involved in city management. Helen grew up as a self-proclaimed tomboy who loved swimming and horseback riding. She emerged as a self-taught equestrian trick rider, winning awards throughout Day County.

In grade school Helen started to develop her ability to draw, leading to contributions to the student paper at Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, where she completed a two-year art degree. Soon after graduating, she attended the Kansas City Art Institute and secured a job with Hallmark Cards in the graphic arts department.

In 1954 she married Luverne Gast of neighboring town, Webster, and they moved East to Annandale, Virginia. There in the Washington, DC area, the Gast family raised three children; a daughter, Cynthia, and two sons, Steven and Gregory.

At home, Helen was always creating. She used her creative talents to make her own clothing, create craft projects, refurbish discarded furniture, and teach other mothers to sew ballet costumes, all the while encouraging the creative interests of her children. Around this time she pursued an interest in watercolor painting, eventually going back to school and graduating Summa Cum Laude with a two-year degree from Northern Virginia Community College.

1982 brought her a second union that filled her with renewed joy and purpose when she married Bob Barsalou, fully embracing his six grown children: Paul, John, James, Thomas, Michael, and Lisa.

Already a professional watercolorist, she belonged to several art organizations and enjoyed teaching collage for the Art League in Alexandria, and watercolor for Fairfax County Adult Education, for the next 17 years. She somehow fit all of this in while heading the graphic arts department for JWK International, a research and development firm in Annandale.

With all of her creative endeavors, Helen’s most enduring artistic focus involved her dedication to watercolor painting, a talent for which she was nationally known. Her style ranged from finely detailed realism to the semi-abstract, and her works now hang in corporate, public and private collections throughout the country. Her South Dakota upbringing informed her artistic choices throughout her life:, as she used the special fluidity of watercolor to capture a transparent illusiveness in her work.

Her family was proud when In 1997 Helen received a grant to paint for a month in Dinan, France. That same year she was selected to paint an egg for the White House Easter display. The C & O Canal was a subject she loved, so she chose one of the bridges to depict.

Towards the close of her career, the discipline of watercolor collage became a related passion for Helen, one that she excelled at.

More than any of her artistic accomplishments, Helen was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and human. She took great comfort in her Catholic faith, and she set a bright example of balancing the creative and practical, which still reflects in her children and stepchildren, as well as her granddaughter and step-grandchildren. Kindness, humor, empathy, and acceptance of all people is the legacy she leaves with all who were privileged to know her well.

“I used to find it strange that the plains were so evident in my paintings. Now I realize that there is a certain sense of calm and peace in those prairies and old weathered buildings that is difficult to realize elsewhere.”

– Helen Dilley Barsalou

Helen leaves behind her husband Bob of 41 years in Charlottesville, VA, her daughter Cynthia Gast of Charlottesville, her son Steven Gast (Patty) from Columbus, OH, her son Gregory (Emily) from North Hollywood, CA, stepsons Paul Barsalou (Su) from Carson City, NV, John (Patty) from Klamath Falls, OR, Thomas (Sandee) from Pinehurst, NC, Michael from Dallas, TX, stepdaughter Lisa Davis (Greg) from Simi Valley, CA, and daughter-in-law Lirio Barsalou (Rich), from San Ramon, CA, and her sister Roberta Paradis (Steve), from Rapid City, SD. Unsurprisingly, this includes 15 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren and near futures.

In lieu of flowers, Helen and family would welcome your donation to the Helen Dilley Barsalou Art Endowment, a fund that provides qualified art students with an annual stipend.

You can mail your contribution to:

NSU FOUNDATION

c/o Helen Dilley Barsalou Art Endowment

620 South 15th Ave. SE

Aberdeen, SD 57401

To donate on line, go to:

NorthernStateFoundation.com and click on the “MAKE A GIFT” button in upper right. Choose, “other,” in the, “I want to support,” field, then type in, “Helen Dilley Barsalou Art Endowment.”

Additionally, donations could be made to

Our Lady of Peace Employee Christmas Fund.

751 Hillsdale Dr.

Charlottesville, VA 22901

Condolences may be shared with the family on the tribute wall.

For more on services and to share your condolences, visit Hill and Wood Funeral Service.