Lucinda Maria Holzer

Lucinda Maria Holzer, 35, beloved wife, sister, and daughter, died at home in San Marcos, TX on Wednesday morning, September 27th, 2023. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 28th, at 2:00 p.m. at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 South Congress, to which all who knew her or her family are welcome. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to one or more of the following: Wikipedia, The Society for Women’s Health Research, The American Cancer Society, The Humane society.

Lucinda was born at home with the help of a midwife in Lago Vista, TX on October 20th, 1987. Her older sister, Nora, welcomed her moments after her birth and the two enjoyed many years of sisterhood. She and her sister were both baptized in 1988 at Rolling Hills Community Church in Lago Vista, TX and raised in the United Methodist Church after moving to Austin with the family in 1989. Lucinda attended pre-school at University United Methodist Church, Brentwood Elementary School, Kealing Middle School, McCallum High School, and Garza Independence High School from which she graduated in May 2006. She attended the University of Texas Austin for one year, then took up a pre-nursing curriculum at Austin Community College while working at various part time jobs.

Soon after completing pre-nursing courses and applying to nursing school Lucinda was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her education/career plans were put on hold while she began the first year of treatment. From the start, Lucinda made it her mission to live life to the fullest. She chose a different career path due to changing physical abilities and the possibility of needing more treatment in future. With the support of vocational rehabilitation services through the Texas Workforce Commission (formerly DARS) she completed a series of computer programming courses at Austin Community College. While still working on her certifications, she was hired to work at Del Valle ISD as a campus technology assistant. From there she went on to work in the Registrar’s Office at Texas State University as a Systems Support Analyst and was later promoted to Degree Works Coordinator while concurrently earning a Western Governors University Bachelor of Science degree in Software Development.

Lucinda met her future husband, Martin John Mills, through work in 2016. When January 2017 tests showed her cancer had spread, Martin took on the job of being not only her primary caregiver/companion but also saw to it that their life together was filled with good food, plenty of exercise, challenging books, gaming fun with friends, road trips, camping, periodic travel to exotic destinations, and quality time with sister and mom.

Lucinda continued working at her job in the Registrar’s office, and enjoying her budding relationship with Martin, while resuming chemotherapy. January 2018 brought emergency brain surgery followed by more rounds of radiation. After a six week work and study hiatus, she returned to her job in the Office of the Registrar. After completing her degree, she achieved her goal of working in IT and moved into a different position at Texas State University as an IT Project Coordinator in the Mobile Web Systems team. She retired from this position on medical grounds in 2019, just a few months prior to the COVID outbreak.

In November 2020, at a lovely COVID precautions appropriate backyard/outdoor Thanksgiving meal, Martin and Lucinda announced their engagement. Wedding plans were put on hold due to the pandemic and to another round of debilitating cancer treatments. Joyfully, on July 25, 2022, Lucinda and Martin were married. The wedding took place in Italy at a villa overlooking Lake Como currently in the family of Martin’s longtime friends, Sergio and Lidia Fava. Most of Lucinda’s family and all of Martin’s siblings as well as his other longtime school friends were able to meet there for the ceremony.

In addition to Martin, Lucinda relied on her sister, Nora. Nora offered steady love and support throughout Lucinda’s life, increasingly so in Lucinda’s final years. They spent quality time together on many weekends either at Nora’s home or Lucinda’s in the company of their various companion animals Coda, Shotty, Mango, Kipper, and Phoebe. Nora cooked occasional meals for Lucinda and Martin and baked tasty cakes to share with them. When travel became more challenging, Nora accompanied Lucinda and Martin on their special trip to visit the giant sequoias in California and on a vacation in Costa Rica. In February 2023 when Nora was awarded a long weekend in Los Cabos by her employer, she invited Lucinda to be her plus one. Most poignantly, Nora was instrumental in making arrangements to fulfill one of Lucinda’s final wishes: a renewal of Martin and Lucinda’s wedding vows held in their home on September 23rd, 2023.

Lucinda is survived by her husband, Martin Mills, of San Marcos, TX; sister, Nora Holzer, of Austin, TX; mother, Ana (Raelyn) Leifeste, of Austin, TX; father, Johann (Hans) Holzer and wife, Marina Egorova, of Clairville, NB, Canada; maternal grandmother, Glenda Leifeste, of Eden, TX; maternal uncle, Paul Leifeste, and wife, Laura, of San Angelo, TX; cousins Bryan Leifeste, wife Sarah, and daughter, Annalea, of Alvarado, TX and Kathryn Siegford and husband, Jared, of Belen, NM. Austrian relatives include paternal uncle, Norbert Holzer, and wife, Johanna, of Bad Ischl; cousins Mathias Holzer, wife, Julia and children, Paulina and Klaus, of Eschenbach; Katharina Holzer, husband, Gökhan, and children Benian and Elisa, of Bad Ischl; Hannes Holzer of Bad Ischl; and DI Rafael Holzer and companion, Anna, of Ried im Innkreis; paternal aunt, Helga Hoflehner, and husband, Andreas, of Gallneukirchen; cousin, Florian, and companion Marlena of Vienna; paternal uncle, Helmut Holzer, and wife, Michaela, of Bad Zell; cousins Barbara Holzer of Linz, Franziska Holzer of Bad Zell, and another soon-to-be born baby cousin; and paternal aunt, Martina Asen and husband, Christian, of Linz. Relatives through marriage are sister-in-law, Marianne Quinn, and husband, Joe, of Dublin, Ireland; sister-in-law, Sophie Dutheil, husband, Mehdi and children Eleanor and Camilla of Paris, France; brother-in-law Tom Mills and wife, Anousch, of Tunbridge Wells, England; and a host of great aunts, great uncles, and distant cousins.

Lucinda was preceded in death by brother-in-law, Richard F. Mills of Turin, Italy, June 1989; mother-in-law, Sheila Mills of Turin, April 1986; paternal grandfather, Johann Holzer of Schönau, Austria, December 1984; maternal grandfather, William (Bill) Leifeste, of Eldorado, TX, November 1990; father-in-law Richard H. Mills of Marston Meysey, England, June 2014; paternal aunt, Hermina Holzer of Schönau, December 2021; and paternal grandmother, Hermina Holzer of Schönau, December 2022. In July 2022, through the generosity of Lucinda, Martin, and the entire Holzer clan (affectionately known as “Rechamocha”) Lucinda and her Austrian “Oma” were able to see and visit with each other one last time.

The family wishes to express their gratitude to Lucinda’s longtime friends in Austin and around the U.S., to friends and co-workers at Texas State University and Del Valle ISD, to Lucinda’s treatment team at Texas Oncology South Austin, to the various medical teams at St David’s Hospital (Central and South), to her treatment team at the former Shivers Center, to the Health and Human Services Commission, the Texas Workforce Commission (formerly DARS), University United Methodist Church Austin, St. James’ Episcopal Church Austin, and to family and friends both near and far.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.wcfishsouth.com for the Holzer family.