She was the only surviving child of Arthur and Paula Hammerschlag (née Seger); an older brother, Georg, was killed in a tragic kitchen accident when he was a toddler.
As a Canadian requirement of their immigration, the family managed a fruit farm near Grimsby, Ontario, for several years, moving to Toronto after the Second World War.
Daughter Nora was born in 1951 and son George in 1953, both in Toronto, where Alan was working at the Ontario Research Foundation.
In 1955, the Newcombes moved to Hamilton, Ontario, where Alan took a job as Director of Research and Development for Porritts & Spencer, a manufacturer of felts for paper making.
Hanna Newcombe died in Hamilton in the early morning of April 10, 2011, after a short illness, with her son Ian at her bedside.
Before she died, she knew that she had a great-grandchild on the way, and was thrilled to know that Felice's son (Mason, born in August 2011) would continue the great chain of being.