Helen Mooney Holcombe, 91, of Seattle, WA, passed away August 19, 2017. She was born to the late Thomas and Hannah Mooney, on February 14, 1926, in Trenton, New Jersey. Helen graduated from Trenton High School in 1943, and she received a Bachelor’s in Music from Westminster Choir College in Princeton in 1947, where she was a member of the college’s prestigious traveling choir. She married the late musician/composer Bill Holcombe, Jr., in 1949, and they lived together in Trenton and Ewing for over 60 years before Helen relocated to Seattle to be near family.
An accomplished musician and coloratura soprano, Helen was often featured as a soloist, especially with her husband’s band. Helen and Bill’s lives together revolved around music, and fittingly their lifelong theme song was Rodgers and Hart’s “With a Song in My Heart.” Helen was known for her pitch-perfect high notes and spine-tingling interpretation of songs. In hundreds of performances over the decades, Helen touched the hearts of thousands with her voice.
Helen also left a teaching legacy. In the early years of her music career, Helen conducted church choirs and taught voice and piano privately. For over 25 years she was a full-time music instructor at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, PA, where she taught voice and music theory and conducted the choir. She loved teaching and was proud of her students’ musical accomplishments.
Helen is survived by her six children: Barbara Goehrig, of Erie, CO; Nancy Haber, of Bainbridge Island, WA; Bill Holcombe, III, of Newport News, Virginia; Jeanette Schanilec, of Seattle, WA; Heather Holcombe, of Summit, NJ; and Kirsten Feldstein, of Wyncote, PA. She is also survived by twelve grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.