Helga M. McGee

Helga M. McGee, age 97, of Bethesda, Maryland passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on Sunday, June 21, 2026. Mrs. McGee, daughter of August and Erna (née Kiefer) Forthmann was born in Wuppertal, Germany on January 30, 1929, and raised in Mettmann, Germany. She attended the University of Mainz, was a graduate of the University of Bonn, and became an English and History teacher in Germany. In 1962, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach German in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She met her husband Edward McGee in Allentown and they remained married for 47 years. They loved travel, art, opera, and the theater. She also loved spending time with her family, reading, and to cook and entertain with her husband. She was quick to laugh and slow to complain. She was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Allentown.

After her husband’s death, she moved to Bethesda to be close to her daughters. She is survived by her son Sean of Flemington, NJ, her daughter Helene (John McCarthy) of Bethesda, her daughter Carol of Bethesda, her stepson Gary (Debra) of Wilmington, NC, and her grandchildren Madeline, Owen, Andrew, Finn, Liam, and Kayce. In addition to her parents and husband, she was predeceased by her aunts, Hulda, Adele, Elfriede, Else, and Helene who raised her with her father and her cousin, Heinz.

A funeral service will be celebrated on Saturday, July 18 at 2:30 pm at Christ Lutheran Church, 5101 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Glenn Echo Fire Department, gefd.org, or WETA, weta.org.