Salome Anna (Fast) Holsinger

Salome Anna (Fast) Holsinger

Obituary

HESSTON - Salome Anna (Fast) Holsinger of Hesston passed away peacefully after a brief illness, surrounded by her four children on Tuesday, March 3, 2015, at Schowalter Villa.

Salome was born on February 5, 1917, in Mountain Lake, Minnesota, the daughter of David H. and Justina (Warkentin) Fast. After nursing studies at Bethel Deaconess Hospital in Newton, Kansas, Salome received her RN certification in 1939 and worked at Bethel Hospital in Mountain Lake, followed by nursing positions in Bluffton, Ohio, and at Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan. In 1944 she accepted a voluntary service assignment with Mennonite Central Committee as one of the founding nurses at the La Plata hospital and clinic in the impoverished interior of Puerto Rico.

On December 16, 1944, Salome married Justus G. Holsinger in Santurce, Puerto Rico. After two years in Bluffton, Ohio, they returned to Puerto Rico in 1948 for another MCC assignment until moving to Hesston in 1952. In addition to being a homemaker, Salome worked as a private duty and staff nurse at Bethel Deaconess Hospital, followed by more than 15 years at Schowalter Villa. In 1976 Salome and Justus accepted a three-year voluntary service assignment with MCC in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, followed by a two-year assignment with Academia Menonita, Summit Hills, Puerto Rico.

Salome served as interim secretary for Justus in the South Central Conference and was an active volunteer at Et Cetera and an ESL tutor. She has been a member of Hesston Mennonite Church since 1952.

She is survived by her sister, Elizabeth (Gene) McBride of Hesston; her sister-in-law, Catherine Miller of Harrisonburg, VA; and by four children: David (Jan) Holsinger of Houston, TX, Don (Ruth) Holsinger of Edmonds WA, Betty (Keaton) Shenk of Harrisonburg, VA, and Becky Rand of Fraser, CO. She is also survived by 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Salome was preceded in death by her husband, parents, stepmother Elizabeth (Eitzen), sister, Erna, and brothers, Ferd, Marvin and Willard. A memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm, Saturday, March 7, at Schowalter Villa, Hesston, with visitation beginning at 2:00 pm.

Memorials may be made to the Holsinger Teaching Scholarship at Bethel College, the Good Samaritan Fund at Schowalter Villa, or MCC in care of Miller-Ott Funeral Home, Hesston, Kansas 67062.

Published in The Kansan from Mar. 6 to Mar. 8, 2015