A memorial service will be held Tuesday May 17 at 11 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 404 North Alamo St., San Antonio, Texas for Helen Kleberg Groves, who was raised on the famed King Ranch.
An honorary lifetime trustee of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation, she died in San Antonio May 6 at the age of 94. Among her children is grand prix show jumper Dorothy (D.D.) Matz, the wife of race horse trainer and former show jumper Michael Matz.
Known as Helenita, she graduated from the Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Va., and attended Vassar College. She was passionate about ranching, fine horses, and family. She was a crack shot with her Colt pistol, often bettering the men around her and continued to be a keen and accurate dove and quail hunter into her nineties.
Helen Kleberg Groves
Helenita ranched her entire life, from overseeing King Ranch’s Buck and Doe Run Valley Farms in Chester County, Pa., to her own Silverbrook Farms in Staunton, Va., to Silverbrook Ranches in Texas, she focused on raising the best Santa Gertrudis cattle and Quarter Horses in the country.
She campaigned many champion cutting horses, including Miss Peppy Also and Pay 21. She was a skilled rider and loved competing across the country, winning many championship buckles and collecting limitless friends along the way. Known as the “First Lady of Cutting,” she was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1998.
Thoroughbreds were also a lifelong passion. She led King Ranch’s Assault into the winner’s circle after his 1946 Triple Crown victory, and went on to breed, own, and race numerous horses that carried her rust and lavender silks throughout her life.
She co-bred and owned the champion filly Althea, who won the Arkansas Derby, as well as numerous other Grade I winners such as Serape, Free Drop Billy, and Hawkbill. Later in life, she could be found in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in August, enjoying the races and regaling all around her with her tales from decades past.
A lifelong learner, interested in numerous subjects including history, politics, the arts and the sciences, Helenita was a voracious reader with a steely memory. She enjoyed lunching with many of the prominent scientists from the institutions she supported, continuously expanding her broad intellect. She also was devoted to her strong corps of “Monday Night Ladies,” who are known to be the catalysts for much of the important charitable and political work done in San Antonio.
Helenita was a philanthropist, who took her service very seriously. She served as president of the Robert J. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation until 2020 and continued on the board until her death. Additionally, she served on the boards of educational institutions as well as the National Sporting Library and Museum, in Middleburg, Va.
Her knowledge and acumen as a rancher, horsewoman, and cattle breeder made her an indispensable member and leader on many boards, including the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, the National Cutting Horse Association and her beloved King Ranch, where she served as a director from 1956-1988, and where her influence was felt for the remainder of her life.
Predeceased by her ex-husband, Dr. John Deaver Alexander, and her second husband, Lloyd L. Groves. Helenita is survived by five children in addition to Dorothy: Helen C. Alexander, Emory A. Hamilton (Fred), John D. Alexander (Claire), Caroline A. Forgason, Henrietta K. Alexander. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Deaver, Cadell, and Robert “Berto” Alexander, Helen H. Cottingham (Charlie), James Forgason, Laird George, and Alex, Lucy, Robert, and Arthur Matz.
Honorary pallbearers will be Deaver, Cadell, and Berto Alexander, Helen Cottingham, James Forgason, Laird George, Alex, Lucy, Robert and Arthur Matz.
The family would also like to recognize the extraordinary care her caregivers provided late in her life, especially Araceli Sutherland, Flor Smith, Dominique Palomo, Julieta Chavez, Ana Cardoza, Stephanie Sutherland, Jessie Gutierrez, and Karel Hoffman.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the King High Historical Foundation, the National Sporting Library and Museum, or any of the charities Helenita supported throughout her life.