Helen Johnson Hornberger was born May 20, 1925, in McPherson, Kansas. She
graduated from McPherson High School and followed her brothers to Wichita. She
then worked at Beech Aircraft Company, eventually becoming personal secretary
to Olive Ann Beech where she met her husband, Dwight C. Hornberger.
She married Dwight in February of 1949 and the couple had three children, Susan
Hornberger, Jan Duffy, and Mark Hornberger.
In the 50s, she developed a process of creating realistic flowers out of metal. By
the 60s, she was becoming well known for her beautiful creations, authoring a
book and teaching others the techniques. She has bouquets of the fifty state flowers
at the Smithsonian and the Sedgwick County Historical Museum.
Helen was an active member of PEO, a docent at the Wichita Art Museum and
Botanica, and received the Auxiliary Achievement Award for more than fifty years
of volunteer service with Wesley Hospital.
Her husband, Dwight and her son, Mark predeceased her. Helen passed away
March 26, 2024, in Wichita, Kansas.

Memorials have been established with the Downtown Y