Marsha Ellen Holloway, 68, of Mount Vernon, Illinois, passed away at 9:11 pm on February 23, 2021 at her residence with family by her side.
In addition to her family, her passion in life was to care for children and the elderly. Marsha was a nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital where she started in pediatrics and then transitioned to Home Health and soon became director. She was able to help and serve for 40 years. She truly cared about people who were sick and did everything she could to help them.
Marsha was born on February 8, 1953 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky to Glenn Anderson and Mary (Calkin) Anderson. Her parents moved to Mt. Vernon when she was a little girl and raised their family here. She is survived by her siblings, Richard “Dick” Anderson and wife, Deborah, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Kay Bass and husband, James, of Oak Grove, Kentucky, John Anderson and wife, Susan, of Mount Vernon, Illinois, Mary Alice Barker and husband, Dan, of Vincennes, Indiana, and Dennis Anderson and wife, Cynthia, of Mount Vernon, Illinois.
Marsha met her husband, Gary, when Gary’s family joined their church, Logan Street Baptist Church. Their first date was a church hayride. She and Gary were married on December 1, 1973. They loved and cared for each other deeply for over 47 years.
Marsha loved her three children very much and she was loved very much by them. Her eldest, Tim Holloway, of Mt. Vernon, played sports and became a teacher and coach at Mt. Vernon Township High School. Her daughter, Andrea Wittenborn, of Okemos, Michigan, studied family therapy and became a professor at Michigan State University. Her youngest son, Travis Holloway, of New York City, studied philosophy and poetry and became a professor at the State University of New York at Farmingdale. She was also grateful for their caring spouses, Rachel Holloway, Danny Wittenborn, and Geoffrey Lind. She is remembered by her children as a truly wonderful, fun, and immensely caring and supportive mother and grandmother.
She adored her four grandchildren, Brock Holloway, Brogan Holloway, Ethan Wittenborn, and Oliver Wittenborn, and extended family and spent as much time with them as she could. One of her favorite pastimes was the Fourth of July celebrations she held at her home with her family.
Marsha particularly enjoyed the women in her Sunday School class at Logan Street Baptist Church and their fellowship there. She also developed close friendships with coworkers that continued after she retired from nursing. She will be greatly missed by those who knew and adored her.
A Visitation will be held Saturday, February 27, 2021 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm at Logan Street Baptist Church. The Funeral Service will begin at 12:00 pm with Reverend Denver Ayres officiating. Interment will follow at Union Chapel Cemetery in Texico, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Logan Street Baptist Church Building Fund.
Please remember to observe social distancing at this time. Following the CDC and NFDA regulations, we encourage everyone to wear a mask. They will be made available, upon request.
Call Hughey Funeral Home at 618-242-3348 or visit hugheyfh.com for further information.