Stein, Helen "Sis" (1923-2010)
Biography
Helen “Sis” Navran was born in 1923 in Kansas City, Missouri to parents Leah and Louis Navran. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned a BA in philosophy. After graduating, she returned home to Kansas City where she met Master Sergeant Arthur Stein Jr. who had recently returned from serving in WWII. They married in 1945 and later had two sons: Jay and Arthur III.
The Stein family moved to Des Moines in 1952, and Sis Stein became active in volunteer work. Starting in 1955, Stein helped organize prisoners at the Ft. Madison Penitentiary to record and transcribe books into braille. In 1960, after witnessing the civil unrest in the United States, Stein organized the Know Your Neighbor Panel. The panel consisted of several women from various racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds that toured Iowa and spoke to thousands of people about the discrimination they faced. The panel dissolved in 1972. In 1992, Stein began volunteering as a court appointed special advocate for children who were victims of abuse or neglect. In this role she helped advocate for children’s best interests in court. Stein was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 1999 for her efforts in civil activism through her Know Your Nighbor Panel and her volunteer work in the courts.
Sis Stein died in 2010 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Helen “Sis” Stein papers
Des Moines woman who organized the Know Your Neighbor Panel, a civil activism group, and was a 1999 inductee to the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame. The collection contains materials from her induction, photographs, and materials related to her family.