Meta Margaret Holloway, 88, passed peacefully of cancer related complications at JBER hospital in Anchorage, Alaska on Jan 8, 2025. Her three children were by her side.
Meta was the widow of CMSGT Keith Holloway (USAF Ret). She is survived by her three children, Constance Speck, Marty Holloway, and Clinton Holloway, and four grandchildren, Rebecca Brookhouser, Matthew Speck, Hunter Holloway, and Wesley Holloway. She is also survived by her sisters Gertrude Waelchli & Christine Galloway, and her brother Walter Mueller.
Meta was born in New Glarus, Wisconsin, the second eldest of seven surviving children. She married Keith on December 26th, 1960.
Following their marriage, they were stationed in Florida, where Connie was born. Marty and Clinton were both born in Texas within a few years.
After the children were born, Keith was stationed to Vietnam. Meta moved to Wisconsin with her three children during that time.
Meta was a devoted wife. A testament to Meta and Keith's love was the daily letters they wrote each other during his earlier deployment to Korea. They restarted this ritual when he went to Vietnam. Imagine the effort it took to wrangle three youngsters during the day and then to write about it after they went to bed! She was fortunate to have the nearby support of her family during this time.
After Keith's return from Vietnam, they were stationed in Kansas City, and Meta began imparting her children with valuable life lessons. For example, she introduced her children to the criminal justice system when she and the children illegally re-entered the Air Force Base after she had registered them for school.
Shortly after that incident, the military relocated the Holloway family to the distant outpost of Bremerhaven, Germany. After a year, they were moved to Sembach, an even smaller base (though Clinton gets blamed for that one).
Meta wanted her children to pursue their dreams, as difficult as it could be to do so at times. Connie, for example, has always loved to dance ballet. Meta somehow found and enrolled Connie in dance studios off base at both Bremerhaven and Sembach so she could pursue this passion.
Her children fondly remember Volksmarches, pommes fritz, curry wurst, and riding all over Western Europe in a green Pinto during those four years. (It is unclear if Meta's memories of trying to control three unruly children and a dog squished in the back seat of the car were as fond as her childrens’, but she modeled remarkable grace if that were the case!)
Meta’s next two years were spent in Florida. Meta was the Team Mom for Marty and Clinton’s baseball teams, baking a cake whenever a player hit a home run.
Meta found her forever home in Anchorage, Alaska, where Keith was stationed in 1978. Her house became the social hub for Marty and Clinton's friends. She is remembered for feeding them until daylight during their marathon D & D sessions. (During the Alaskan winters, this is quite a feat.)
Shortly after moving to the Great Land, she was employed by Brewster's Department Store in Mountain View. She worked at the iconic Alaskan clothing outfitter for over two decades, quickly rising to Manager and overseeing the opening of a second store in south Anchorage. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Victoria Hill Condo association, where the Holloway family relocated after Keith’s retirement.
Meta moved to the Chugiak-Eagle River Senior Center in 2018, where she regularly participated in activities such as painting and exercise classes. She very much appreciated the friendship of her fellow residents and the staff.
Meta enjoyed traveling, playing cards, bowling, studying the Bible, and drinking wine, beer & spirits, though not necessarily in that order. She will be laid to rest next to her husband at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery. She will be missed.
