Joyce Sigrid Horbach

Joyce was born on January 29, 1928 in Seattle Washington, the only child of Henry and Sigrid Saari. She grew up in the Ballard area, moved to Bellevue as an adult where she lived for many years, until later becoming a resident of Timber Ridge in Issaquah, WA. She attended Ballard High School and graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in English in 1949.

In October 1953, she married Eugene Horbach, who founded E & H Properties in 1966 and became one of the leading independent commercial real estate developers in the Pacific Northwest. Joyce was meticulously organized and had an impressive head for numbers, working for many years as a bookkeeper at Seed and Berry, a patent law office. She was a whizz at crossword puzzles and word games, and still played in her monthly bridge club and bested her adult grandchildren at Gin Rummy until a few months before her death.

While at UW, Joyce joined the Chi Omega sorority where she developed life-long friends. She remained intimately committed to the UW Chi Omega alumnae association for nearly 75 years serving as a member of the Executive Committee and as Treasurer. She was an active volunteer at the Overlake Thrift shop and several other organizations. A devoted Mariners fan, she knew all the players and stats and was thrilled when invited to attend a game in the owner’s box.

Joyce had an eclectic range of interests and hobbies. She received her pilot’s license in her 20’s. She regularly attended the theater and the Seattle Symphony. With her husband Gene, Joyce was an avid collector of Asian art including paintings, jade and furnishings which filled her home. One of her favorite accomplishments was remodeling her Asian inspired home in Medina. Because of her interest in her husband’s Ukrainian heritage, Joyce joined the Ukrainian Women’s Club, often dressing in traditional costume and participating in craft festivals. She traveled to Europe, Taiwan and Japan with family and friends. For decades, Joyce was an active member of her Women’s Investment Club.

Joyce was a loving and devoted mother and grandmother, hosting all for holiday celebrations in Bellevue and traveling frequently to the east coast to visit her daughters and grandchildren. She passionately collected mementos of her children and grandchildren’s lives and accomplishments. Her family and friends will miss her easy-going, optimistic, humble, kind and giving nature as well as her wicked sense of humor. She was resilient with a tenacious zest for life.

Joyce is survived by her 3 children and 4 grandchildren- daughter, Dr. Nicolette Horbach and her husband, Dr. Thomas Pinckert (Potomac, MD), son, Eric Horbach (Renton), and daughter, Sandra Horbach and her husband Steven Skoler (New York, NY); grandchildren- Madeline Pinckert, Christopher Pinckert, and his wife, Angela Xu; Alexandra Skoler, and her husband, Richard Bradley; and Jocelyn Skoler, and her husband, Matthew Podlesak. She was preceded in death by her husband, Eugene Horbach, and parents, Henry and Sigrid Saari.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Chi Omega Foundation Annual Fund