Helen was born in Columbia, Alabama and grew up in Phenix City, Alabama and Columbus, Georgia. She was last in the family of five and she graduated from Central High in Phenix City and later graduate from Perry Business College in Columbus. During the 1960s, she lived in Europe and her formal art training began during this time in the classrooms, museums and galleries through Europe. After her return to the United States, she continued her art studies at the University of Utah School of Fine Art. Lee returned to Columbus in 1976 and lived there until her husband's death in 1987. She had two children with husband Robert J. Hobbs, a son, Robert J. Hobbs, III and a daughter, Janet Lindsay Hobbs.

Drawing and painting were always her interest as a child. Her first "art collection" were pictures of movie stars decorating lids of ice cream cups. Today, these photo lids are sought after collector's items. She is best known for her watercolor paintings of the South and can be seen in many private and corporate collections. Her impressionist paintings, in bold vivid watercolor, are reflections of her surroundings and life experiences. Her latest project was a series of works of the Chattahoochee Riverwalk.