Gwin Pilcher Roberts Cuomo

Gwin Pilcher Roberts CuomoGwin died March 29, 2013, at her home on Hilton Head Island. She was born in Mississippi on December 31, 1934, to Clarence C. And Irene Moore Pilcher, was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and began a singing career in her teens. She moved to Kansas City, Missouri at the age of 21 and pursued a career in singing and modeling. She was named "Miss Jazz Kansas City" and was compared to June Christy and Cris Conner in her style. She moved to New York City in the late 50's and performed at the Village Vanguard and other jazz rooms around the city, then joined The Les and Larry Elgart Band on a road tour. She would eventually sing in clubs as far reaching as London and Brussels. In 1961 she gave up her full time singing career for marriage, and raising her two children. She worked for IBM Corporation in New York City, and later as the Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Board and Assistant Corporate Secretary at Elizabethtown Water Company, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Survived by husband Tom Cuomo of Hilton Head Island, SC, son and daughter in law Mark Roberts and Barrie Roberts and two grandchildren Max and Abbey Roberts, all of Wyckoff, NJ, 2 sisters Gladys Starnes of Oxford, MS, and Evelyn Traylor Gautreau of Baton Rouge, LA, and 14 nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, a sister Frances Troxler, a brother Henry Pilcher, and a daughter Lauren Bryant. A memorial service in celebration of Gwin's life will be held on Saturday, April 20th, from 1:00 - 3:00 pm at The Country Club of Hilton Head, 70 Skull Creek Drive, Hilton Head Island, SC. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lauren Roberts Bryant Scholarship Fund at Dickinson College, Carlisle Pennsylvania, or Hospice Care of the Lowcountry, Post Office Box 3827, Bluffton, SC 29910. The Island Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements. www.theislandfuneralhome.com