Marybelle Redditt Hollowell

Born in 1922 to David Earl and Helen Spruill Redditt near Aurora, NC, Marybelle, as a little girl went to live in Edward with her grandfather and step-grandmother, “Mama Carrie”, a career school teacher who had no children of her own. Mama Carrie’s home was packed with books of all kinds and Marybelle quickly became an avid reader. With few children her age to play with and much spare time, she spent hours reading and learning of the world outside her small, rural hometown in Beaufort County.

She graduated from Aurora High School and went on to pursue her own degree in education at East Carolina Teachers College (now East Carolina University), but left college to enter the workforce when she married Bernard Benjamin Hollowell in 1945. Bernard had just completed his service with the U.S. Army Air Corps in WWII and was resuming his college studies toward a law degree, so Marybelle took a secretarial job to help make ends meet. Once Bernard became a lawyer, they moved to Pamlico County and Marybelle taught fifth grade and eighth grade at Alliance School. When their family began to grow, Marybelle left the classroom to work with Bernard as his secretary. She served capably in that capacity for decades as she saw the law firm grow into Hollowell & Hollowell, Attorneys at Law. Her “niche” at Hollowell & Hollowell was the preparation of U.S. Coast Guard vessel documentation packages and she was known far and wide as the “go to” person for boat paperwork. She valued her maritime relationships and took great pride in her ability to cut through federal red tape like a bow slicing a rough sea.

Marybelle’s love for reading was lifelong and sharing that passion with others was a calling. For that reason, the Pamlico County Public Library was very dear to her. She was instrumental in Pamlico County getting its first small public library and she continued her advocacy until in 1978 Pamlico County opened the first combined public library/public school library in North Carolina.

Marybelle was a member of Bayboro United Methodist Church where she served as Treasurer for over 50 years, taught Sunday School, and sang in the choir. She volunteered with PTA, Cub Scouts, the Salvation Army, Hospice of Pamlico County and Habitat For Humanity of Pamlico County. Marybelle was an accomplished seamstress and cook. She was known for her generous heart, her fierce loyalty, her quick wit, and her famous “congo squares” which are known to half the Eastern Seaboard. While Marybelle conquered every challenge she ever faced, it was as ‘Mama” & “MaBelle” that she really thrived. She never missed a concert or ball game one of “hers” was involved in and she had the innate gift of being able to make each child feel special. She was our biggest fan.

Marybelle is survived by her husband of 69 years, Bernard B. Hollowell, their four children, Sue H. Lee (Rod), Bernard B. Hollowell, Jr. (Jennie), Rebecca H. Ackiss (Paige), and Steven E. Hollowell (Debby), seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, as well as two sisters, Barbara Redditt Swain and Helen Erle Redditt Morris.

The family will receive visitors at Bayboro United Methodist Church on Wednesday, July 8 from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm. Her funeral will be on Thursday, July 9 at 10:00 am at Bayboro United Methodist Church with burial to follow at Boyd-Redditt Cemetery in Edward, NC.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial gifts be made to Bayboro United Methodist Church, PO Box 64, Bayboro, NC 28515 or Friends of the Pamlico County Library, 603 Main Street, Bayboro, NC 28515.