Helen Louise Hodgman

Helen Louise Hodgman
1925 – 2026

Helen Louise Hodgman was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1925. Her father, Jay Hornberger, owned the Youngstown Coal Co., and her mother, Laurabelle Parkin, was a noted church organist in the region. Helen passed away peacefully on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. She earned her degrees in music from Westminster Choir College and the Juilliard School of Music in both piano and vocal performance. While living in New York City, she met her husband, Robert Hodgman, an English Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University.

After World War II, Helen and Bob moved to California, where they started their family of three children: Patrisha, Carl and Tom Hodgman. In 1965, the family moved to Bangkok, Thailand, where Bob taught English to Peace Corps teachers for two years. Helen was active as a church and community musician, playing piano and leading choirs.

The family returned to California in 1967, where they bought a home in Altadena. She spent her time raising her three children and actively serving as a church musician and accompanying the Cal Tech Men’s Glee Club, with whom she made several national and international concert tours.

In 2004, at age 80, Helen decided to move to Tecumseh, Mich., to be closer to her youngest son, Tom, and his family. She spent the final 21 years of her life as an active grandmother to Sarah and Tommy Hodgman. She enjoyed making music with her family at home and attending shows at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts and the Croswell Opera House to watch her grandchildren sing and dance in several musical theater productions.

Helen was a wonderful person who supported the arts in Lenawee County and generously contributed to national organizations such as the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and the American Cancer Society. She is survived by all three of her children and three grandchildren: Shauna (who lives near her mother in Los Angeles) as well as Sarah and Tommy Hodgman. She leaves her extended family with a joyful heart, knowing she played a significant role in instilling a love for music, a passion for world travel, and living life to its fullest.