Diana Bond Holtshouser
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We sadly announce that our wonderful and beloved mother Diana (Bond) Holtshouser passed away after a brief hospitalization on January 17, 2023, at the age of 90.
Our mother's story began in Karachi, India (now in Pakistan) where she was born in 1932. The second of three girls, she and her family led a storied life of adventurous worldwide travel, owing to her father Orlo's management position with the (then) Standard Oil Company. From India to the US and Europe, she experienced numerous ocean crossings in the days when grand ocean liners like the Queen Mary ruled the seas [I so loved the ocean and it has always called to me]. She lived through very exciting and scary times, including World War II and later the British departure from India in 1947 and its tumultuous aftermath (resulting in the creation of Pakistan).
Diana enjoyed a broad and interesting international education, starting with her early years at the Woodstock School in Mussoorie, India, followed by the Northfield School for Girls (later Northfield Mount Hermon School) in Mount Hermon, Massachusetts. She graduated in 1954 from the College of Wooster (Ohio), where she earned a B.A. in Political Science, with a year studying abroad at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland [I always loved all things Scottish]. While in the UK in 1952 she was present at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. She maintained lifelong friendships and frequently attended reunions from the various schools she attended [so many memories, so many friends].
She also had a widely varied and interesting career, including positions as a Field Director with the Girl Scouts in Youngstown, Ohio, an elementary school teacher in Rockford, Illinois, a lecturer with the Missouri Historical Society, administrative assistant for the City of Ferguson, Missouri and later 25 years serving as an administrative assistant with the Girl Scouts of America in Manchester, NH. [I even worked once as an airport security screener!]
But it was her position as a civilian Program Director for the United States Air Force in France in 1957 that led her to meet her husband of almost 40 years, a young Airman named Bill "Buddy" Holtshouser [he never followed the rules at the airbase rec room, but he was a charmer with a twinkle in his eye]. They were married in 1959 in Rockford, IL and moved back to his home in St. Louis, Missouri to start a family. They relocated to Manchester, New Hampshire in 1974, where they lived out the remainder of their lives.
Diana was a long-time member of the First Congregational Church in Manchester, NH, where she was active in the handbell choir for decades [I'm told you could always tell when I made a mistake - I stuck my tongue out...]. In 2026 she was honored for 40 years as a member [my mother's family had also been members of the church in the early 1900s].
Diana was pre-deceased by her husband, William Alphonsus Holtshouser III, who died in 1998, her parents Orlo W. Bond and Marjorie (Stickney) Bond, and her sister Marjorie "Midge" Nagus. She is survived by her sister Barbara (Bond) Nutt and husband Edgar Nutt of Concord, NH, beloved children William A. Holtshouser IV of Raleigh, NC, Stuart Holtshouser of Manchester, NH, Susan (Holtshouser) Rapier of Winston-Salem, NC and Kent Holtshouser of Milford, NH, daughters-in-law JoMarie (Sucato) Holtshouser, Kathleen (Jacobson) Holtshouser and Michelle (Peterson) Holtshouser, and son-in-law, Kevin Rapier. Diana also had quite a contingent of grand-children, whom she loved dearly: Christopher (married to Kristin Tajlili Holtshouser), Matthew, Brian, Emily, Katelyn, Carley, Lauren and Cora (all Holtshouser) and Abby and Ethan (Rapier). [My wonderful husband, parents, sisters, children and their spouses, and so many amazing and talented grandchildren...I was so blessed to have you all in my life...]
One of our mother's favorite quotes (from Dr. Harold Ivan Smith) was "a person is not gone until we stop saying their name and telling their stories". Please help us tell Diana's stories and honor her memory at a memorial celebration to be held on Monday, April 10, 2023 at 10am at the First Congregational Church of Manchester, followed by interment of ashes at Pine Grove Cemetery and a "celebration of life" luncheon (location to be determined). We invite anyone and everyone who knew Diana to join us and help celebrate a beautiful, long life, well-lived. ["Love me and let me go when I come to the end of the road and the sun has set for me"...oh, I miss the ocean so!]
We also want to thank the incredible staff at The Meetinghouse at Riverfront (Manchester, NH) and more recently The Courville of Manchester, as well as Deborah Moore, an ARNP with the Elliot Senior Health Center, for helping our mother age gracefully and with dignity these last few years.