Anita Joy Holland

Anita “Joy” Phillips Holland, 79, of Coolville, OH, entered her Heavenly rest February 5, 2011, at St. Joseph's Hospital, Parkersburg, WV, surrounded by her family.Joy was born January 6, 1932, in Shady Spring, Raleigh Co., WV, a daughter of the late Wirt and Anna Gilkerson Phillips.She was a 1949 graduate of Gauley Bridge High School.She married William Kenneth Holland on September 3, 1950.They raised 8 children and shared nearly 58 years of marriage before his passing in 2008.She was a Baptist by faith.Joy grew up in many small coal-mining towns in Raleigh and Fayette counties that no longer exist.She told of life before modern heating was available often waking to find the goldfish frozen in their bowls, of snowstorms on the mountain' with shoulder-deep snowfalls and the thrill of listening to suspense radio programs.Ken and Joy moved to the Mid-Ohio valley when work beckoned at Union Carbide in Marietta.Upon moving to the country where fresh vegetables and fruits were abundant, Joy discovered a love of canning which provided a table full of delights during the winter months.She was an excellent cook with homemade bread and biscuits her specialty.While Joy always felt her greatest accomplishment was raising her children to adulthood, she had also worked at Coolville Elementary School as a teacher's aid, and as Washington County home-health aide.She was an accomplished poet, artist, enjoyed camping, fishing and was an avid crossword puzzle fan.She was wonderful mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who will be sadly missed.Left to cherish her memory are her four sons:Stephen Craig (Lee Ann) of Hockingport, OH; Michael Eric (Carla) of Belpre, OH; Charles Matthew of Coolville, OH; and George Richard (Alison) of Belpre, OH; her three daughters: Susan Gayle Thompson (David) of Belpre, OH; Pamela Claire Morrison (Cecil) of Palestine, WV; and Alissa Joy Hoban (Jim) of Tallahassee, FL; 18 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; one sister, Sharon Belenski of Murfreesboro, TN, a host of nephews and nieces and her beloved doxie, Annabelle, also survive.In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by a son, William Kenneth Holland, II, in 1999; an infant daughter in 1960; and a brother, Gayle Dean Phillips in 1999.The family wishes to express sincere thanks to her caregivers, Gail Holland and Carol Owens and to the staff of St. Joseph's Hospital for their compassionate care of our mother during her many illnesses the past three years.Cremation arrangements have been entrusted to Lambert-Tatman Funeral Home in Belpre.Private interment will be in the Nuttall Cemetery, Hico, WV, at a later date.Memorials may be made to the Marietta Home Health & Hospice, 210 N. 7th Street, Marietta, OH45750.