Helen Peters, longtime force in N.L.'s arts community, has died

Helen Peters died on Jan. 8 at age 83; she was a longtime academic and cultural supporter in Newfoundland and Labrador, known for editing The Plays of Codco and serving on arts boards.

Helen Peters, a longtime supporter and scholar of Newfoundland and Labrador's arts, died on Jan. 8 at the age of 83. She played multiple roles in the province's cultural life, including editing The Plays of Codco and serving on the board of Newfoundland Quarterly. Peters taught English at Memorial University and the University of Ottawa and retired in 2004. Her academic work included doctoral studies at Oxford; her thesis, published as a book, won the British Academy's Rose Mary Crawshay Prize in 1981. Known details: - Date of death reported as Jan. 8; she was 83 years old. - Peters edited The Plays of Codco, a collected record of early Codco sketches. - She served on the board of Newfoundland Quarterly and on several community arts boards. - Early in her career she worked as a medical laboratory technologist and later earned degrees in English from Memorial University before doctoral studies at Oxford. - She taught at the University of Ottawa and at Memorial University, retiring in 2004. - A celebration of life is scheduled for Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. NT at the Elks Club in St. John's. Summary: Colleagues and community members describe Peters as an influential presence in the province's arts scene whose editorial and academic work helped document local theatre. A celebration of life has been scheduled for Feb. 28 in St. John's.