Wanda Mae Laird Holden - 05 Feb 1927 - May 6, 2004 - Died at her home in Birch Tree, after a long illness, at age 77. She was a native of Kansas City who moved to Birch Tree following her marriage to Robert Lee Holden Dec. 16, 1948. He survives at the home. The Holdens have farmed Shannon County for 53 years, where she was a homemaker, assisted in the management and daily activities of the farm, and was active in the community. She is also survived by three sons: Missouri Governor Robert Lee Holden, Jr., Jefferson City and his wife Lori Hauser Holden; Judge Calvin Ray Holden, Springfield and his wife Margaret Ellis Holden; Steven Ernest Holden, an attorney from Tulsa, Okla., and his wife Laura Ann; one daughter: Cynthia Anne Holden-Hartman, an educator from Carrollton and her husband David; and nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. 'She was a person who never met a stranger, never shied away from a challenge, lived her life with great spirit and energy, and worked hard to help her children have an education and the confidence needed to go out into the world,' said Governor Holden. Mrs. Holden was born in Kansas City on February 5, 1927, to the late Ernest 'Pete' Laird and Beatrice Hinderliter Laird. She graduated from Rosedale High School in Kansas City in 1945 and assisted her father at Laird Brothers Commission Company, a cattle trading company at the Kansas City Stockyards, prior to her move to Birch Tree. She was active in the Town and Country Club, a local women's civic group, and served as Chairman of the Democratic Committee in Shannon County. She was a member of the Monday Night Bowling League, sponsored by Don Layman of Layman Lumber Company. She helped manage the Holden family farm, which has been in the Holden family for more than 100 years. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Wanda Holden Scholarship Fund administered through the West Plains Bank of Mountain View to the attention of Joe Head. The scholarship will be awarded to a senior girl attending college from the Mountain View-Birch Tree School District area. Donations may also be made to a local hospice association. Services were held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Holden farm, off Route MM in Shannon County; with interment at the Corinth Cemetery in Shannon County. Visitation was Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. at Duncan Funeral Home in Mtn. View. Grandchildren are Robert Lee and John D. Holden of Jefferson City; Chrysa LaDawn, Cali Marie, Alexander Laird, and Zoe Elizabeth Holden of Springfield; Stephanie Elizabeth, Ashley Raven, and Adam Laird Holden of Tulsa. Great-grandchildren are Kirstyn and Kaitlynn Roberts of Springfield, and Tyler Austin of Tulsa.
The Current Wave.