Born Eliza Helen Criswell, she was the only child of Dr. John T. and Martha Criswell of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Her father passed away when she was 8, causing her mother to return with her daughter to the family home in Bryn Mawr. At the age of 18 Helen entered Bryn Mawr College, where she studied languages and served as captain of her basketball team. After graduation she launched a teaching career, holding positions as a language teacher in Portland, Oregon and Tacoma, Washington. She spent a semester at the University of Berlin in 1911 and traveled to Paris in 1913. Accepting a job at Bryant High School in Long Island City, she was soon attracted to the lifestyle of Greenwich Village. In 1916 she became a partner in the popular Mad Hatter coffee shop, and then its sole owner. It was there she met her future husband, Hendrik Willem van Loon.
The van Loons were married in August, 1920 in New York City. H. W. van Loon called his new wife "Jimmie," her nickname from college days. She was an efficient typist, which long supported his prodigious writing career. Although they divorced in 1927, they were later reunited and spent several years living in Veere, Netherlands and traveling. In 1931 they returned to the United States and later purchased a house in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. H. W. van Loon died of coronary disease in March, 1944. Helen died fourteen years later in a nursing home in nearby Stamford.
Obituary 9 November 1958 New York Times, Boston Herald.
The van Loons were married in August, 1920 in New York City. H. W. van Loon called his new wife "Jimmie," her nickname from college days. She was an efficient typist, which long supported his prodigious writing career. Although they divorced in 1927, they were later reunited and spent several years living in Veere, Netherlands and traveling. In 1931 they returned to the United States and later purchased a house in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. H. W. van Loon died of coronary disease in March, 1944. Helen died fourteen years later in a nursing home in nearby Stamford.
Obituary 9 November 1958 New York Times, Boston Herald.
Born Eliza Helen Criswell, she was the only child of Dr. John T. and Martha Criswell of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Her father passed away when she was 8, causing her mother to return with her daughter to the family home in Bryn Mawr. At the age of 18 Helen entered Bryn Mawr College, where she studied languages and served as captain of her basketball team. After graduation she launched a teaching career, holding positions as a language teacher in Portland, Oregon and Tacoma, Washington. She spent a semester at the University of Berlin in 1911 and traveled to Paris in 1913. Accepting a job at Bryant High School in Long Island City, she was soon attracted to the lifestyle of Greenwich Village. In 1916 she became a partner in the popular Mad Hatter coffee shop, and then its sole owner. It was there she met her future husband, Hendrik Willem van Loon.
The van Loons were married in August, 1920 in New York City. H. W. van Loon called his new wife "Jimmie," her nickname from college days. She was an efficient typist, which long supported his prodigious writing career. Although they divorced in 1927, they were later reunited and spent several years living in Veere, Netherlands and traveling. In 1931 they returned to the United States and later purchased a house in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. H. W. van Loon died of coronary disease in March, 1944. Helen died fourteen years later in a nursing home in nearby Stamford.
Obituary 9 November 1958 New York Times, Boston Herald.
The van Loons were married in August, 1920 in New York City. H. W. van Loon called his new wife "Jimmie," her nickname from college days. She was an efficient typist, which long supported his prodigious writing career. Although they divorced in 1927, they were later reunited and spent several years living in Veere, Netherlands and traveling. In 1931 they returned to the United States and later purchased a house in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. H. W. van Loon died of coronary disease in March, 1944. Helen died fourteen years later in a nursing home in nearby Stamford.
Obituary 9 November 1958 New York Times, Boston Herald.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
