Christina (Tina) Donahue Holder, 77 beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and aunt, died peacefully at home Tuesday, January 16, 2021 due to complications of dementia. She was surrounded by loving family and friends at the time of her death.
Tina was born June 29, 1943 in Houston to Don and Christina (Chris) Donahue. She was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her loving husband of 55 years, Dale Holder, her daughter Christina, her son Kevin and his wife Diana, her five grandchildren, Rylee, Caden, Duren, Tatum, and Dex, all of whom live in Austin, and her sister Kate Campbell.
Tina and Dale met as teenagers in high school in Houston. Tina attended both Texas Tech and the University of Texas at Austin. Tina and Dale dated through college, and they were married in Houston on June 3, 1965 (Tina 21 and Dale 22), a few days after Dale graduated from UT Austin. Dale took a job in Houston where they lived until Dale was drafted into the Army. Dale was assigned to Yuma Proving Ground, a dessert environmental station for testing munitions and weapons. In September 1968 Dale was discharged, and took a job in Los Angeles working for an oil pipeline company. Tina and Dale lived in Los Angeles until the early 2000’s when Dale retired and they moved back to Austin. Both of their children were born in California. Since returning to Austin, Tina and Dale have had a rich and rewarding life with a wonderful family and many dear friends.
Tina was loved by all who knew her. She was very intelligent with uncommonly good judgment. She had a wonderful sense of humor and a sharp wit that could be disarming to the unsuspecting. She was the matriarch of her family, providing sage counsel and a guiding morality. She was a life master contract bridge player, and a gifted interior designer whose vision led to the design and construction of our beautiful Austin home. She went to work as a secretary and administrative assistant for a technology company, subsequently acquired by Hewlett Packard, where Tina rose to the position of Senior Human Relations Manager. She had impeccable integrity professionally and personally.
But Tina’s real hallmark was the love she had in her heart. She loved babies, children, and animals. She had great empathy for the underprivileged and disadvantaged. She served on the Board of Directors for Imagine A Way, an Austin charity that serves autistic children. Most of all she deeply loved her family, her husband, her children, and her grandchildren. Family was unquestionably her top priority. She always placed the needs of her family above her own. All who have known Tina have been truly blessed to have her in our lives. She will be forever missed.
Her legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of everyone she interacted with as well as those she reached but never met. In lieu of flowers, please help her kindness, loyalty, and compassion continue by making a donation to Imagine A Way or to help fund Alzheimer’s research.
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