Martha 'Helen' Holden

Celebration of Martha Helen Forrest Holden’s Life Helen concluded a productive life of 85 years at her home in Holden on Valentine’s Day, Wednesday, February 14, 2018. She was born at the home of her parents, Edwin Clark Forrest, Sr., and Susie Watts Forrest, near Albany on April 7, 1932. She graduated from Albany High School in 1948—the last class of 11th-graders to graduate from high school in Livingston Parish. Helen married Eric J. “Bood” Holden, a WW II Marine veteran of Iwo Jima, in 1949. They are the parents of three sons, Raymond Dudley Holden and Barry Craig Holden of Holden and Eric Timothy “Tim” Holden of Saudi Arabia. Grandchildren include Eric, Cody, Casey, Adrian, and Matthew Holden, and two great-grandchildren, Beau James Holden and Emmalyn Claire Holden. She is also survived by a sister, Wanda Kay Threeton, a brother, Clark Forrest, Jr., and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. She is predeceased by her husband, parents, infant brother, and grandparents, Edwin Frederick “Fred” and Martha Hutchinson Forrest, and William “Will” and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Truax Watts. Her work career was varied and included many years of employment at the U.S. Plywood plant in Holden, where she was an active member of the Union. However, her favorite job was as a Livingston Parish Librarian at the Albany-Springfield Branch, from which she retired at the age of 84. She was a long-time member of the Bethel Baptist Church in Livingston. Special appreciation is extended to her health care providers, Dr. Anthony Zerangue and Dr. Niksad Abraham of Hammond, Modern Home Health & Hospice, Livingston Council on Aging’s Meals on Wheel and her caregivers. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the visitation from the chapel of Brandon Thompson Funeral Home, Ponchatoula, on Sunday, February 18, 2018 from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Visitation will resume on Monday, February 19, 2018 from 9:00 a.m. until the Celebration of Life Service at 11:00 a.m. Pastor Charles Ellzey will officiate the services with interment to follow in Hutchinson Family Cemetery in Albany. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Albany-Springfield Branch of the Livingston Parish Library System, P.O.Box 1256, Albany, Louisiana 70711-1256.

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Martha 'Helen' Holden

April 7, 1932 - February 14, 2018