Ms. Anita Harris Holloway

Anita Harris Holloway
Anita had a long life and she remarked just days before passing that she guessed she didn't live her life the way she should have (none of us do), but said "it was fun though!" She also spoke often of our Mother coming to take her to Heaven to be with all the rest of the family who have passed before:
Mother Emma Harris Holloway
Father Thomas Ernest Holloway Sr
Brother Thomas Ernest Holloway Jr
Nephew Thomas Ernest Holloway III
Great Niece Elizabeth Bambi Holloway
Anita is survived by:
Her only sister Becky Carr of Garland
Her nieces Debbie Anderson of Garland and Jennifer Martin of Austin
Her great niece Heather Mitchell
Her great nephew Steven Mitchell
Her great great nephews Cody Mitchell and JJ Phillips
And multiple in-laws, friends, and extended family
Anita was born in Dallas, TX on June 14, 1929 and passed away peacefully on Christmas Day December 25, 2011 after a courageous fight with esophageal cancer. Anita lived most of her life in Dallas, but many Holloway relatives were from Oklahoma and the family lived in Oklahoma briefly when she and Tommy were children. Anita was proud of her Cherokee heritage.
She and brother Tommy didn't grow up with a lot of advantages, but they had a lot of love from parents, family, and friends and were as close as a brother and sister could be.
Anita attended Highland Park High School, but when baby sister came along in 1947, she dropped out to help the family and took multiple jobs. She eventually went to night school to get her High School Diploma and then attended SMU night school as well.
Anita only had 2 full-time jobs her whole life: Anita began a long successful career in Quality Control testing products in 1950 at Kraft Foods early in the company's history when it opened in Garland, TX and worked there until she discovered a better opportunity at Texas Instruments in Dallas. Anita retired from Texas Instruments Incorporated after 35 years of service. Anita was extremely proud of her TI service and all the friendships she acquired there through the years. Many of her friends from TI remained her friends throughout her life.
Anita loved America and joined the US Marine Corps Reserves in 1953 during the Korean War where she served at the Dallas Naval Air Station and was honorably discharged in 1957.
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Anita loved cars and driving, especially Oldsmobiles, and she would try to buy a new one every year (early on) or as often as she could during her lifetime. Although her first car was a Ford, she always owned large comfortable Oldsmobiles after that. She enjoyed family vacations and carrying friends and family around town to drive-in movies, restaurants, picnics at White Rock Lake, church, shopping, or whatever. She always liked to do the driving.
Anita loved the arts and had many friends involved in the arts. She was fond of Picasso and Van Gogh paintings. She especially enjoyed music and movies and enjoyed Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and all the Doo Wop of the 1950's and 1960's. Some of her favorite actors were Marlon Brando, John Wayne, Jeff Chandler, Clark Gable, Marlene Dietrich and Barbara Stanwyck. Her favorite songs included "Don't Be Cruel" by Elvis "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, and "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum among others.
Anita also loved to travel…she traveled the US - mostly Southwest and Southeastern states and also Canada and Mexico usually by car but sometimes by air. In her younger days, Anita would drive the family to visit Dad working in Borger, Amarillo, or Pampa, TX with 3 feet of snow on the ground. Anita drove the family to Florida when little sister Becky was only about 4 years old and stood in the ocean surf with her. Becky ripped her pocket as the surf came in and she held on tight to Anita! One of her favorite places to visit was New Orleans, La, where she often attended Mardi Gras with friends. Arizona was another favorite place she frequented with friends, often to visit Las Vegas.
Anita's life was full of hardship due to early illness with Scarlet Fever, sacrifice of high school graduation with her class in order to help her family, and a lifelong battle with her own personal demons, but she triumphed and was very proud to tell everyone that she overcame alcohol and had 37 years of Sobriety with AA. She also quit smoking and tried to advise everyone else to give it up as well. It was through AA that she developed a much closer tie with God than previously experienced.
In later years, Anita loved to visit with friends and family at The Waffle House where she would treat them to her all-time favorite meal of eggs, bacon, toast, waffles, and coffee.
As much hardship and pain as Anita endured, she also experienced a lot of joy helping others and as she said, just having fun. Anita was also fond of saying that she lived her life her way on her own terms and she was comfortable with that knowledge in the end.
Anita's favorite scriptures/quotes were:
The Serenity Prayer
23rd Psalm
Lord's Prayer
"God thank you for all you have given me, all you have taken away, and all you have left me." After becoming ill, she prayed this daily with family and friends on the phone and in person.
In her final days, Anita dreamed of Mother coming to take her hand with Jesus to lead her to Heaven and she asked "When is Christmas?" every day of her last week here. When we would answer that it was Sunday, she would put her hands to her head and say "Oh, no…I can't wait that long" so we think that Anita believed that God was going to come for her on Christmas Day and he made good on that promise to her. Going home to Jesus was Anita's gift from God on Christmas Day and she died peacefully with

that knowledge.
We celebrate Anita's life today with songs and prayer and with the knowledge that although we will miss Anita, we know that she is safe in the arms of God and that she no longer suffers from the pain of this temporal world.