Our beautiful Virginia Ann Holmstead passed away on March 13, 2021 in her son’s home in Heber City, Utah after a long battle with dementia. She was 84 years young and loved by so many.
Virginia was born on July 1, 1936 in Provo, to Herman Olsen-Allred and Alberta Gourdin. She had two older sisters and one younger brother. She was raised mostly in the Orem and Provo area. She was a tomboy at heart and loved spending time in her youth at the family’s orchard farm.
Virginia married Ed Sixkiller and together they had three beautiful daughters: Annette, Sherry, and Ginger. They later divorced. Virginia then married Curtis Harward and had four strong sons: Glen, Gordon, Joe, and Scott. They later divorced.
She then married an incredible man named Lowell Strasburg. Together they raised her seven children and lived a fun family life full of memories. They spent their life together in American Fork. After 23 beautiful years of marriage Lowell passed away.
A few years later she married a wonderful man named Von Holmstead. Von treated her like a queen. Together they enjoyed their golden years as they were almost inseparable.
They loved spending their time hunting, fishing, camping, going on cruises, and always playing cards. They lived on a beautiful farm in Manti. Virginia thrived in the company of her pets and animals, and in the sunshine of her garden and yard. They truly lived life to its fullest. Von passed away in 2017.
Virginia was a lady of many talents. She was a seamstress extraordinaire. She loved to sew and crochet; she could make you anything you imagined that way. She worked at Bailey’s Sewing Factory in Pleasant Grove and later at Norther Outfitters in Lehi and Orem. But she didn’t think of it as work because she loved it so!
She could bowl with the best of them. In her young years she spent many nights bowling in her league. Even in her 80’s she was still teaching her grandkids and great-grandkids all the tricks.
She also loved to work with wood and spent many hours of her life creating. She loved to look her best and was always classy but felt most at home in the outdoors surrounded by nature.
Virginia loved to play games, especially cards. She knew all the games and enjoyed teaching her children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. She looked forward to the yearly family reunion so she could be surrounded by the ones she loved playing games.
Virginia loved her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was very proud of her posterity and the family she created. She loved taking pictures and showing them off anytime someone came to visit. She truly was the glue that held her family together.
Virginia was sassy, fun, and had zest for life. She was always busy and doing. She never slowed down and was always on the go. Up until the very end she never wanted to sit still.
She is survived by her sister in-law Carol Olsen; her children: Annette (Reece) Myers of American Fork; Sherie Sixkiller of West Valley; Ginger (Ron) Swain of Redmond; Glen (Konnie) Harward of Heber City; Joe (Lisa) Strasburg of Orem; Scott (Diana) Strasburg of Lehi; Kirk (Zina) Holmstead of Lehi; Cal Dean (Suzanne) Holmstead of Lehi; Terry (Vickie) Holmstead of Bluffdale; Tony (Jennie) Holmstead of Eagle Mountain; her daughter in-laws: Lori Strasburg of Redmond and Debbie Holmstead of Pleasant Grove; cousins and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even a few great-great-Grandchildren, as well as nieces and nephews, all of whom she loved dearly.
She was preceded in death by her parents Herman and Alberta Olsen-Allred; her husbands Lowell Strasburg and Von Holmstead; her sisters Betty Tanner and Madeline Harward; her brother Gordon Olsen; her brother-in-laws Cliff Tanner and Conrad Harward; her sons Gordon Strasburg and Lyle Holmstead; her grandson Jeffrey Harward; her great-grandson Dominick Strasburg and her great-great-grandson Ezerett Mendez.
Services were held at Wing Mortuary at 118 East Main in Lehi on Saturday, March 20. Interment was in the Lehi City, Cemetery. Online guest book at wingmortuary.com.
