Martha Faye Holland

Martha Faye (Cotton) Holland of Orlando, Florida, went home to be with the Lord on September 26, 2026, at the age of 93. She passed peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones and the sound of hymns being sung to her.

Faye was born on a farm in Geneva County, Alabama on July 22, 1933. She was the youngest of five children born to Harvey and Vassie Cotton. Faye attended nursing school at Georgia Baptist Hospital School of Nursing in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated with her nursing degree in 1955. She dedicated 46 years of her life to serving as a nurse in Orlando, Florida. Faye married William Jack Holland on October 13, 1956. They had five children: Cindy, Greg, Jennifer, and Melissa; and one “adopted” daughter, Shirley. Together, Faye and Jack shared 69 beautiful years of marriage.

Faye loved the Lord and her faith was a guide by which she lived her life. From teaching Sunday school classes to directing the third through fifth grade children’s department, Faye and Jack served at First Baptist Orlando long enough to see children of former students go through the Sunday school program. Over the years, Faye and Jack housed four high school exchange students, foreign college students who couldn’t go home for Christmas, two cancer patients from Guatemala, a medical student from Panama, and many others who needed a place to stay. Faye also volunteered at her local Pregnancy Resource Center for numerous years, counseling, comforting, and praying for the women who visited.

Faye was preceded in death by her parents, Harvey and Vassie Cotton; her siblings, Laura Allgood, Lloyd Cotton, Edith Brock, and Christine McClendon; and her children, Greg Holland and Shirley Annis.

Faye is survived by her husband, Jack Holland; her children, Cindy and Gary Johanson, Jennifer and Franco Timbol, and Melissa and Bob Nickolopoulos; her grandchildren, Anna and Zac Coleman, Weston and Kelly Annis, Deborah and John Michael Hodgins, Elena and Toab Livsey, Abigail Timbol, William Timbol, and Angus Nickolopoulos; and her great grandchildren, James Hodgins, Brianna Hodgins, Scarlet Hodgins, and Theodore Coleman; and by countless friends and loved ones.

Faye will be remembered for her ever-present smile and generous laughter. She will be remembered for the way her eyes sparkled with mischief and the pranks she would play on people. Faye will be remembered for how she could find humor in any situation, even in her own dementia. She will be remembered for singing “I love you, a bushel and a peck” and “hey, good lookin', whatcha got cookin’” to her loved ones. Faye will be remembered for how she made everyone she met feel welcome and accepted. She’ll be remembered for her patience and how she modeled grace and forgiveness. Faye will be remembered for how she was quick to lift others up to the Lord in prayer and always let them know she was thinking of them. She will be remembered for the way she told stories of her childhood so vividly you could almost imagine being there with her. Faye will be remembered for her warm hugs and the way she unabashedly showed the people she cared about how much she loved them.

One might say that the world is a little duller without Faye in it, but that wouldn’t be true. Because she shared some of her light with everyone she knew and loved, they now all carry that light with them and share it with others. So, the truth is, the world will be forever brighter because Martha Faye Holland lived.

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Faye’s funeral will be held at First Baptist Orlando in the Henry Chapel on October 8, 2026. The viewing will begin at 10 AM and the funeral service will begin at 11AM. The internment will be at Glen Haven Memorial Park at 1:30 PM.

First Baptist Orlando’s address is 3000 S. John Young Pkwy, Orlando, FL 32805.

Glen Haven Memorial Park’s address is 2300 Temple Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789.