Pikiteora Maude Emily Gertrude Edith (Williams) Costello (1928 - 2013)

Born 12 Jul 1928 in Mohaka, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Died 2 Aug 2013 at age 85 in Upper Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand

Biography

Pixie (Williams) Costello is Notable.

Pikiteora was born in 1928 in Mohaka, a small settlement in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand.^[1][2][3][4] Initially raised by her grandparents, they passed away when she was young. This resulted in her living with an uncle who often made her do laborious farm work. She eventually left home at the age of 17 and headed to New Zealand's capital city of Wellington where she resided in a hostel.^[2][4]

A popular New Zealand musician in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Pixie (as she often went by), while unable to read music, taught herself to play guitar and banjo.^[5][4] She was the singer of Blue Smoke, the first song to ever be entirely produced in New Zealand, making its production forever regarded as a pivotal moment in the growth of the New Zealand music industry.^[2][5][6][4]

Meeting an Irishman named John "Paddy" Costello while on holiday in the city of Dunedin in 1951, the two fell in love and married soon after, raising four children together.^[2][4]

Pixie passed away on 2 August 2013 at the Fergusson Rest Home and Hospital in Upper Hutt, near Wellington, at the age of 85. She was ill with dementia, diabetes and Parkinson's disease at the time.^[1][6] She was buried with Paddy at Green Park Cemetery in Dunedin on the 8th of August.^[2][3][4]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, "Births, Deaths & Marriages Online," database, (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz : accessed 13 July 2020), death registration of Pikiteora Maude Emily Gertrude Edith Costello, date of birth 12 July 1928; citing registration no. 2013/19764.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} "Blue Smoke singer Pixie Williams dies." Stuff. August 6, 2013. http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/9005105/Blue-Smoke-singer-Pixie-Williams-dies.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Dunedin City Council, "Cemeteries search," database, (https://www.dunedin.govt.nz/services/cemeteries/cemeteries-search : accessed 13 July 2020), entry for Piketeora Maude Gertrude Costello (died 2013, buried 2013), Green Park Cemetery.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5} "Pixie Williams: The Voice of Blue Smoke." Wellington City Libraries. September 11, 2013. http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2013/09/11/pixie-williams-the-voice-of-blue-smoke.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} "Hit song finds new voice after 62 years." Stuff. July 16, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5294709/Hit-song-finds-new-voice-after-62-years.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} "Singer of NZ classic dies." RNZ. August 5, 2013. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/216208/singer-of-nz-classic-dies.

See also:

• Wikipedia page for Pixie Williams