I had heard recently that she was ill, although it didn’t go into specifics. Apparently, she had an unspecified form of dementia.
Man, this year just continues to suck.
The Wikipedia article says Reddy was diagnosed with dementia in 2015 and had moved into a medical center. But it also says that she performed for 750,000 people at the Woman’s March event in 2017.
How was somebody who was so ill they spent the last five years of their life in a medical facility able to go out and perform before a massive live audience?
That must have been added after I saw the site, or I missed it while skimming the site before posting it.
Glen Campbell was still performing when he barely knew who he was. Musical ability seems to be retained the longest.
Obviously, none of us know the details about what her health was like in 2017, but the fact that she was in an assisted-living facility (and apparently had been for a couple of years) doesn’t necessarily mean that she was unable to function. Also, it doesn’t sound like she performed a concert then; the article says that she sang one song. Here’s footage of her appearance that day – she certainly seemed to be in good form then.
And, as @nearwildhaven notes, Glen Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2010, but continued to perform for two more years.
And now she’s … never to be found … 
I’m bummed. Growing up in the 70s, I mostly knew her for “I am Woman”. Recently, I’ve gone back and listened to more of her stuff, and she was a lot better than I’d given her credit for. Now she’s gone. Yeah, this year stinks.
“I Am Woman” was a big part of my childhood. I remember hearing it once in the 90s, after not hearing if for more than 10 years, and just sobbing. I wasn’t even sure why.
Glen Campbell did it and was awesome, even though confused at times.
Aw, what a shame! Always liked her. Great voice! I enjoyed her music.
It was the most meaningful song to come along in our lifetimes. The great thing is that Helen wrote it herself!
Playing a nun in, “Airport '75”? Did she lose a bet?
She was also in Pete’s Dragon. She must’ve lost more than one bet.
78… I always had her pegged as 10 or more years older than that. She was a slightly older contemporary of my parents, not in my aunt and uncle’s generation like I thought.
I always liked Angie Baby better.
Like most people I roll my eyes and plug my ears when the schmaltz songs are played. But I make an exception for “You and me against the world”
Hey, that ain’t no way to treat a lady.
An oldies station in my old town, that we sometimes listened to when I worked at the satellite hospital pharmacy, played her remake of “Fool On The Hill” every mid-afternoon. You could almost set your watch to it.