Obituary – Eleanor Holtz
Eleanor was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, in the front bedroom of her home on Dewey Street. She was born on October 18, 1941, to Alexander Kaiser Nader, who immigrated to America from the Village of Shweir in Lebanon as a teenager, and Lucille Helen (Miller) Nader of Dayton, Ohio. She was in a hurry to join her family so she did not wait for the doctor. Eleanor was the last of six kids, Robert, James, Lillian, Allan and Freida. Our mother’s name was given to her by her oldest brother, Robert.
While in high school she agreed to go on a double date with her best friend Marilyn. Dudley was in the Navy and was stationed at Millington, Tennessee, with our father, James Holtz. Our father agreed to go to Greenwood, and Marilyn knew Dudley and he was her date. Our father did not know who his date was and thought that Marilyn was his date. He couldn’t dream that he would be so lucky to be Eleanor’s date. To his surprise Eleanor was his date, and it was love at first sight. Fast forward a few years and plenty of letters later they were married in Avoca, Iowa.
Their first home together was on Whidbey Island, Washington. Over the years they would live together in Iowa, Missouri, Massachusetts, and finally settle back in Missouri. Our father was offered a job in St. Charles, Missouri. This offer came from a doctor who worked with our father at Monsanto. This doctor was starting up his own business called Central Microwave. He started working there in December 1979.
You could never take the farm life out of my father. They finally bought their own farm in 1983 in Raymondville, Missouri. One day Jim handed Eleanor a piece of paper with a rectangle drawn on it. Our father told her to fill it in how she wanted. He worked four days a week in the St. Louis area and three days at the farm. They built a home, raised cattle and baled a lot of hay. Eventually, Jim retired from work and was able to be on the farm full-time with Eleanor.
Jim and Eleanor spent 60 wonderful years together until Glioblastoma Multiforme took him from this earth. Eleanor spent the next six years, with the help of their son Brian, keeping the farm going and trying to fill the hole that Jim left.
Eleanor was very proud of her Lebanese heritage and enjoyed making Lebanese food taught to her by her mother. In the last few days, she talked with the doctor and nurses enthusiastically about her favorite Lebanese dishes. I am sure she is in heaven sitting down to the grandest of meals with all her family. Pass the kibbeh!
Our mom spent a week in ICU at Mercy Hospital in Washington, Missouri. She returned home by an ambulance and was placed in Hospice Care with Three Rivers Hospice. Like in her birth, she passed peacefully in her home on Monday, July 27, 2026. No doctors, just her children and her beloved dog Zoey.
Eleanor was preceded in death by her husband, James; her parents, Lucille and Alex; brothers, Robert Nader, James Nader and Allan Nader; and sisters, Lillian Dean and Freida Ghesquiere-Nader.
Eleanor is survived by her children, Cheryl Holtz-Gorman (Chris), Donna Anthony (Walt) and Brian Holtz; grandchildren, Christopher Anthony (Jenny), Allison Anthony and Timothy Anthony (Caitlin); great-grandchildren, Raiden Batten, Alexis Anthony, Leo Anthony and Connor Anthony; great-great-granddaughter, Lily Anthony; and sister-in-law, Delores Nader, along with her nieces and nephews.
A graveside service for Eleaner will take place Monday, August 3, 2026 at 11 a.m. at Graceland Cemetery in Avoca, Iowa. Online condolences may be left at www.foxfh.net. Arrangements are entrusted to Fox Funeral Home.
