Art Cullison's widow dies

The widow of retired copy editor (and assistant state editor and TV, movie and night club reviewer) Art Cullison and his bride of seven decades, Helen Louise Hagen Cullison, passed away Sunday, Dec. 29.

She was living in an assisted living community in Erlanger, Ky., near their son, Dick, who resides in Fort Mitchell, Ky. Another son, Robert, lives in Hopkins, Minnesota.

Art, who retired in 1985 after 36 years at the BJ, died in 2012.

The Cullisons were avid bridge players.

Helen’s obituary:

Helen Cullison

Helen Louise Cullison (nee Hagen), formerly of Akron, died in Erlanger, KY December 29, 2013 at the age of 92. For many years, she was the president of the Akron Area League of Women Voters, where she arranged and moderated numerous candidates’ forums, which were frequently televised in Akron.

She taught American Government at Copley (Ohio) High School for 17 years. Her annual lecture on civil liberties was so well respected the school administration turned it into an assembly so the entire school could be involved. She was the faculty advisor to the student newspaper, the Copley Circle. Several of her students went on to careers in journalism.

In 1999, she was awarded the Judith Resnik Pioneer Award by the Women’s History Project for “a woman who has paved the way for others to follow.” While in college, she was the second female editor of Akron University’s newspaper, the Buchtelite.

She met her husband Art while both were working on the paper. They wed in 1942, while Art was on a weekend pass from the US Army Air Corps. He shipped out to Africa one month later.

Art and Helen Louise shared a room in a nursing home in 2012, the last year of his life. Helen Louise survived her parents, Hans and Adeline Hagen and her brother Robert.

She leaves her sister in law Keta Hagen of Phoenix, her brother Bruce (Joan) Hagen of Brecksville, two sons Richard (Veronica) Cullison of Fort Mitchell, and Robert Cullison of Hopkins, MN; grandchildren Robert (Renee) Cullison Junior of Copley OH, Steven (Lisa) Cullison, Jeffrey (Carrie) Cullison of Minneapolis, Andrew (Sarah) Cullison of Fredonia, NY, Rachael (Zachary) Fait of Fort Mitchell, and four great grand-sons.

Visitation will be at the Billow funeral home 85 N. Miller Rd., Akron OH from 1-2 PM Saturday, January 18, 2014. A memorial ceremony will follow. Contributions may be given to the Akron Area League of Women Voters 380 Mull Ave. Akron, OH 44320, or Summit County United Way 90 N. Prospect St. Akron, OH 44304-1273. 

Online condolences can be made at www.linnemannfuneralhomes.com .  

The BJ story on Helen’s passing:

By Carol Biliczky
Beacon Journal staff writer Helen Cullison, 92, longtime leader of Akron Area League of Women Voters, government teacher January 02,2014 03:20 AM GMT Carol Biliczky Beacon Journal Publishing Co. Copyright � 2014 Beacon Journal Publishing Co. Inc and Black Press. All Rights Reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the express written consent of the Akron Beacon Journal is expressly prohibited.

Like many women’s organizations, the Akron Area League of Women Voters sniffed the winds of change in 1985.

“Now, we realize that every woman does not have time to sit down after work and pound out a letter to her congressman,” longtime league member Helen Cullison told the Beacon Journal at the time about why the group was sending pre-printed materials to politicians.

Mrs. Cullison, a former president of the local league of women voters, died Sunday in Erlanger, Ky., after a short illness. She was 92.

She was well-known in the Akron area for leading the league, moderating public debates and for 17 years as an American government teacher in Copley-Fairlawn schools.

When Akron Mayor Edward O. Erickson launched an interactive television series in 1962 to tackle the community’s biggest problems, he called on Mrs. Cullison to moderate the first forum on the city’s financial condition.

In 1986, Mrs. Cullison helped to negotiate the details of a league-sponsored debate between then-Akron Mayor Tom Sawyer and Summit County Prosecutor Lynn Slaby, who were in a contentious race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. John Seiberling.

She said that working out the many debate details — from who sat where, to who spoke first, to who asked the questions, to how many tickets each candidate got — was becoming increasingly tedious for local organizations like the League.

“My experience goes back to the 1950s,” Mrs. Cullison told the Beacon Journal. “In those days, the candidates either accepted or rejected the invitation.”

In 1999, Mrs. Cullison received the Akron Women’s History Project’s Judith Resnik Pioneer Award for paving “the way for others to follow.”

Born in Akron, she graduated from Buchtel High and the University of Akron, where she was the second female editor of the student newspaper, the Buchtelite.

She was preceded in death by her husband, former Beacon Journal drama, movie, radio and TV critic Art Cullison, 92, in 2012.

The couple’s survivors include sons Richard of Fort Mitchell, Ky., and Robert Jr. of Hopkins, Minn.; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Visiting hours at the Billow funeral home in Fairlawn will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Jan. 18. A memorial ceremony will follow.

Contributions may be made to the Akron Area League of Women Voters, 380 Mull Ave., Akron, OH 44320 or to the United Way of Summit County, 90 N. Prospect St., Akron, OH 44304-1273.