William "Bill AKA Bill Messenger" Moessinger

1937 - 2022

William "Bill" Moessinger (AKA Bill Messenger), 85, of Havre de Grace, Maryland; formerly of Street, Maryland, passed away on November 28, 2022. Bill was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 11, 1937 and grew up in Highlandtown, Maryland. He quit school at the age of 13 and worked for a few years as a self-taught pianist. He passed his GED as a young adult and enrolled in Towson University where he earned his Bachelor's in Education. He later achieved two Master's Degrees in Creative Writing and Poetry from John's Hopkins University. He also studied musical composition at The Peabody Institute.

In 1952, Bill met Evelyn Kroll at a playground in Highlandtown, Maryland. They married on February 27, 1960, and went on to have two children: Laura and Claudia. In 1967, Bill and Evelyn moved to Street, Maryland where they lived on a 16 acre property. The main room of their house had been a one-room log cabin in the mid-1800's, and the rest of the house was constructed in 1920. They called the property, Little Brook Farm.

Bill had many passions throughout his life, including music, education, writing, animals, and nature. His musical career included an early rock & roll recording with the Baltimore-based band, The Rockin' Maniacs.

He performed with many nationally known artists, including Cass Elliot of The Mamas and the Papas. As a jazz pianist, he played in swing bands, jazz groups, ragtime ensembles, and Dixieland bands. In 1983 he was voted Baltimore's best piano player by Baltimore Magazine.

Bill taught all ages as an educator, specializing in music, English, and drama. He created two courses for the Teaching Company: "Great American Music: Broadway Musicals" and "Elements of Jazz: From Cake Walks to Fusion." Bill wrote non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. His short story, "Give it Back to the Indians," was published in an Isaac Asimov collection. His work with Alzheimer's patients was the basis for his book, The Power of Music: A Complete Music Activities Program for Older Adults. In recent years, Bill was working on a book, which his family plans to publish posthumously. Titled, Beyond the City Limits: Reflections from Little Brook Farm, the work compiles a variety of farm life and nature-inspired pieces that Bill originally wrote in the 1970's.

With no background in farming, Bill and his wife Evelyn learned how to raise sheep and chickens from books borrowed from the library. Bill built their barn using his wife's designs and their hobby farm became the home to a rotating menagerie of animals. Bill also taught workshops in food foraging and led guided tours of the plant life on Little Brook Farm, highlighting the medicinal value of many of the plants that grew naturally on the property.

In his senior years, Bill became a popular Elderhostel lecturer traveling the country, performing on cruises and retreats. He interwove piano playing and singing with storytelling, sometimes taking on the character of George Gershwin. He continued to perform until the age of 82.

Bill and Evelyn lived on Little Brook Farm until the fall of 2020 when they moved to Havre de Grace to live with their oldest daughter, Laura, and her family. In 2021, they sold Little Brook Farm to their youngest daughter, Claudia.

Bill is survived by Evelyn, his dear wife of 62 years, his daughter Laura and her husband Mark and his daughter Claudia. He is survived by eleven grandchildren and their spouses: Jacob and his wife Jessica; Noah and his wife Dominique, Caleb and his wife Darlene, Dreama, Alanna, Sage, Tacy, Diego, Bryan, Lillian, and Jeremy; and one great-grandchild, Hayden.

Services will be private. A celebratory tribute for friends and family is planned for April, his birthday month.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests prayers. Donations may be made to the Fallston Animal Rescue Movement (FARM) where Bill adopted his beloved dog, Kirby.

For additional information, please visit: www.harkinsfuneralhome.com