On January 9th, 2021, the world suddenly lost an enlightened, amazing, kind, wise, talented, gentle, faithful, spiritual, loving, creative, funny, loud, brilliant, great cook, beautiful woman, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. Holly Stoneman-Green lived the past 58 years on her own terms until her generous heart gave out way too soon.
Born on December 7, 1962, Holly grew up in Grandville, Michigan. She was an active and inquisitive child, always getting into mischief, and so smart, she started kindergarten at the age of four. Her love of water, especially romping in enormous waves in the Great Lakes, is legendary. Holly graduated with the Class of 1980 from Grandville High School and then earned an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from Grand Rapids Junior College, now known as Grand Rapids Community College. During her culinary career, she worked at the Grand Villa, then spent 25 years professionally cooking in restaurants in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Holly held many positions at Amway such as Sous Chef in the 1913 Room for several years, banquets, buffets for grand parties, and room service. During her 35 years at Amway, and after an injury prevented her from being on her feet, Holly spent 10 years as a Hospitality Assistant in the parking department. During those 10 years, Holly earned her Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) title, sharing friendly guidance and her hometown pride with city visitors from her well-decorated booth.
A magnificent and creative cook, she loved cooking for her family, from grand traditional holiday meals and birthday specials to experimenting with ethnic dishes using her "wall of flavor" spices that she ground and mixed herself. Cooking “is what I do,” she’d say. She posted her culinary creations on social media, as well as smart, humorous, and often irreverent commentary on a variety of topics that gained her an enthusiastic following.
Holly loved laughing with family and friends, hanging with her girls, activities with Hailey, watching birds, taking trips to the U.P. (land of her people), mystical things and magic, all things Star Trek, texting to the sisters’ thread, all creatures great and small, and music. The love of music meant a house full of instruments: guitar, ukulele, banjo, bongos, steel drums, thumb harp. Her artistic flair extended to numerous crafts and hobbies that she excelled at: painting, crafting, basket making, napkin folding, table decorating, knitting, wood burning, and making Christmas ornaments. But it was during the high holiday of Halloween that she tapped all her creative talents, at once producing incredible costumes, fantastic makeup, magically conjured foods, and fantastic contest-winning pumpkin carvings.
Holly’s spiritual quest included devoted service to others as a parishioner of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. There, she contributed time and talent to feeding the homeless through the church’s Breakfast Café and knitting them hats. She was especially proud to complete a four-year program in Theological Education from the University of the South, School of Theology also known as Education for Ministry (EfM). She understood what it meant to be a real Christian, going beyond traditional religion to explore and respect alternative views and cultures, accompanied by an eclectic reading list.
Her proudest legacy and the loves of her life are her surviving daughters Samantha, Natalie, Robin, and Aimee. They share her belief in just causes, helping others, devotion to family and home, boisterous humor, and the delight of finding new passions to follow. Much-loved granddaughter, Hailey, gave her heart-filled joy, the next generation to benefit from her culinary and crafting skills. Sisters Heidi Stoneman, Carol Stoneman Dibble (Len), and Julie Stoneman (Paul Jurczak) ache at the loss of their treasured #4 (the fun one), as does her soul sister, best friend of 40 years, and keeper of truly great stories, Amy Babins and her family. Nephew, Christopher Dibble, his wife Sarah, and grandniece Ruby captured her heart. Holly leaves behinds cousins, tousins, countless friends and co-workers with whom she laughed, loved, and enjoyed adventures large and small. Her parents Fernley (Stoney) and Edna Mae (Heidi) Stoneman preceded her in death, as did Tressa (Gussie) Groendyke, Holly’s dearest caretaker and teacher of the heart, and many animal friends.
The family plans a Celebration of Life in the future, as they know there will be a long line who wish to pay tribute to a remarkable woman. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Food or Education Ministries at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mental Illness Research Association, and Love, Inc. A GoFundMe account has been established for support and continuing education for her family (https://www.gofundme.com/f/education-for-holly-stoneman-greens-children?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1)
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