Whisnand is ready to return to volunteering

Tim and Margaret O'Leary

Special to Village News

Over the course of her 90 years, Helen Whisnand has lived a life of service to her community, church and schools.

She has, in ways large and small, exemplified a personal and professional dedication to others. Whisnand has been sidelined for now by the novel coronavirus pandemic, but she expects to return to service when the virus poses less of a threat to vulnerable volunteers.

"I've always been a multi-tasker," she said in a recent phone interview. "I like to be busy."

She turns 90 in the middle of June, which is about the time a thrift shop where she volunteers is expected to reopen. She doesn't expect to return right away to the shop operated by the Angel Society of Fallbrook. Like many others in her age group and health status, Whisnand plans to take a wait-and-see approach.

The Angel Society is one of about a dozen local groups or committees – some of which she founded or headed – that have drawn her devotion over the years. She has helped set the pace for her counterparts who have filled key roles in a far-flung community that depends on volunteers for an array of beautification, historic preservation, arts, special needs and youth and senior recreation and education.

Some estimates peg the number of nonprofits operating in the Fallbrook area at about 150.

"We're an unincorporated area that is far from San Diego, and that means we don't get a lot of county services," said Jean Dooley, who heads the Angel Society board and is active in many other local groups. "The nonprofits here provide the services that the resources of incorporated cities usually do. Fallbrook would not be the pleasant place it is without the volunteers we have that take care of it."

Whisnand draws upon John Wesley – the English cleric, theologian and evangelist who died in 1791 – for inspiration. Wesley, who founded the independent Methodist movement, famously said: "Do all the good you can, by all the means that you can, at all the times you can to all the people you can for as long as ever you can."

Her service began as a child with her involvement with the Masonic Rainbow Girls and later with the Order of the Eastern Star. Her brother introduced her to her future husband, Charles Whisnand, who served in the Navy and saw action at Iwo Jima during World War II. They moved to Fallbrook in 1954, and their lives became intertwined with the area's history.

Charles had found work as an engineer for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the agency now known as Cal Fire.

Helen initially worked for Bank of America, where she helped with the escrow of Vail Ranch, the 87,500-acre spread that blanketed the Temecula area from Vail Lake to the Santa Rosa Plateau. Once one of the largest cattle operations in California, portions of the ranch were developed into the planned communities of Temecula and Murrieta.

The couple had three children, but a son and daughter died in infancy. Their surviving son, Jim, is now retired and he lives in a house in the family's original Fallbrook neighborhood. As Jim grew up, Helen was active with PTA, Band Boosters and Cub Scouts at his various schools. She also added new responsibilities to her Masonic roles.

She was subsequently recruited for a job at Fallbrook Hospital, where she performed a variety of tasks and jobs over her nearly 31 years there. She retired as the hospital's director of in and out-patient services in 1991. Her departure was prompted by adult-onset asthma, a condition she attributes to the hospital's installation of formaldehyde-infused carpeting and furniture.

"I loved my job," Helen said. "It was one job I always looked forward to going to. It wasn't work."

Charles retired about 1980 after serving 32 years and achieving the rank of captain. He was also active at the Fallbrook Masonic Lodge. He died in July 2009. The couple was married 59 years. They have three grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

Helen's array of community service commitments included a stint on the board of the Reche Club, which for generations owned and maintained Fallbrook's historic one-room schoolhouse. The schoolhouse – one of Fallbrook's oldest buildings – was constructed in 1896. The club took over the building in 1934 and used it for social and education purposes until the group merged with the Fallbrook Historical Society in 2016.

Helen has devoted much of her energy to committees, projects and ministries of the Fallbrook United Methodist Church. She has turned over the leadership of many of the groups to others, but she remains active and in still in charge of the church library. She crosses paths at church with Dooley, and for the past six years they have worked on the same shift at the Angel Society shop. The nonprofit has donated more than $4 million for community needs and projects since its 1978 inception.

"She is a shining light on my Angel crew," Dooley said. "Her concern for others is evident in her behavior and attitude. She is a great pleasure to have in the shop."

Helen said she is anxious to return to the shop, but she plans to follow her doctor's advice as to when it will be safe. It may take a vaccine to do so as her age and medical history have placed her at high risk to the devastating virus.

"We've never seen anything like this," she said. "It's something new that we've all had to face together. I just pray the whole world will heal."