Helen Richards-Nethercutt (born September 12, 1952) is an American

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

philanthropist.

Career

Helen Wilkins was born in 1952 in

Buckingham, Illinois Buckingham is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 300 at the 2010 census, up from 237 at the 2000 census. The village is about 63.7 miles south west of Chicago Illinois. It is included in the Kankakee- Br ...

and graduated from

Herscher High School Herscher High School is a public high school in Herscher, Illinois, United States. The school's mascot is the Tiger and the school colors are gold and black. History Herscher High School's first graduating class in 1904 numbered seven students ...

in 1969. She married U.S. Army specialist John Richards and adopted the name Helen Richards. They had two children, Travis and an autistic son Trent. In 1980 she had a divorce and moved to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, where she worked at a grocery store and would meet

Jack Nethercutt II Jack Boison Nethercutt II (born December 22, 1936) is an American businessman, restaurateur, and former racing driver with Ferrari and Lotus. He is the chairman of Merle Norman Cosmetics and president of the Nethercutt Collection. Nethercutt ra ...

whom she later married. The couple operated a luxury restaurant named Boison's near the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

. She became a financial contributor for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

athletic program and donated for the

Galen Center The Galen Center is a multipurpose indoor arena and athletic facility owned and operated by the University of Southern California. Located at the southeast corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Figueroa Street in the Exposition Park area of Los Ang ...

, Merle Norman Stadium, USC Trojans beach volleyball, and the

Spirit of Troy The USC Trojan Marching Band, nicknamed The Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe (TGMBITHOTU), represents the University of Southern California (USC) at various collegiate sports, broadcast, popular music recording, and nat ...

marching band.

Autism charity

She has donated to several autism schools and charities within

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. She became a major financial contributor to the Exceptional Children's Foundation (ECF) based in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

References

External links

* https://uscwot.exposure.co/helen-nethercutt {{DEFAULTSORT:Nethercutt, Helen Autism activists Nethercutt–Richards family American women in business Living people 1952 births 21st-century American women