Lou L. Hollingshead
9/14/1928 – 12/3/2020

On Thursday, December 3, 2020, Lou Hollingshead, loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend and teacher passed away at the age of 92. She enjoyed a long, rich, and love-filled life that came from sharing her love, kindness, respect and friendship with everyone she knew.

"Lou" was born September 14th, 1928 in Rush Springs, Oklahoma, a small farming community in south-central Oklahoma to James Lowry and Lasca Hargett and was the younger sister to her brother "Jamie". Although Lasca passed away when Lou and Jamie were still toddlers, their father soon remarried and they gained a new mother, Billie Ross Lowry, as well as a new brother, Joe Bryan Ross. A few years later, Lou's younger sister, Lanora, arrived and the Lowry family was complete.

Oklahoma in the 1930's was not an easy life. But Lou grew up in a home full of love with her siblings, and in a community with cousins, and friends (some of whom she kept close ties with all her life). Although her modest upbringing taught her to work hard (she held part time jobs such as working at the local drug store), there was also time to spend with her friends swimming at the community pool and attending events like the yearly "Rush Springs Watermelon Festival" that celebrated the major local crop. Her father and her uncle Buster were often referred to as "The Watermelon Kings of Rush Springs, the Watermelon Capital of the World!" If that made her a "princess", she was never pretentious and enjoyed being a friend to everyone she met. Nevertheless there was no denying she had the uncanny ability to tell which watermelon in the grocery was the best, just by giving it a "royal thump"!

Lou always had a passion for knowledge and was an exemplary student. She was her high school class valedictorian, and earned a scholarship to attend Oklahoma A & M College (today, Oklahoma State University). There she met her future husband, and lifelong sweetheart, Charles (Chuck) Oliver Hollingshead. She brought him home to Rush Springs so often her mother questioned if they would ever get to see her without him! They married August 28th, 1949 in the front yard of her home. She sewed her own wedding dress of white dotted Swiss cotton.

Both Lou and Chuck graduated the following year: she with a BS in Home Economics and he with a BS in Industrial Engineering. They moved to Shawnee Oklahoma and both worked in their respective fields of teaching and engineering before starting a family. Over the next 12 years, first in Shawnee, Oklahoma then later in Denver, Colorado, they created a family adding Susan, Jon, Sarah and James. In 1963, Chuck was transferred to Martin-Marietta's Central Florida plant and they settled in Winter Park, Florida.

Lou stepped away from teaching for a time as their children were growing up. She put her degree to good use as she raised four active children; instilling in each of them her lifelong pursuit of knowledge and respect for learning. She always encouraged them to be the best people they could be. Although Lou proudly celebrated when they each graduated from college she also appreciated the wealth of knowledge that comes from life experiences and always encouraged her children to try new and different things. Years later, Lou returned to her love of teaching. She obtained her masters in Education from FSU and taught for many years at Evans High School in Orlando.

Lou's greatest gift was the love and kindness she exhibited toward everyone she knew. Certainly her immediate and extended family was the biggest beneficiary of this. But so too were her friends, students, neighbors and friends from Winter Park Presbyterian Church where she worshiped for over 50 years. All who knew her will miss her, but they will remember her joyful, loving spirit with fondness.

Lou lost Chuck, her husband of 57 years, in 2006, her eldest daughter, Dr. Susan Hollingshead (Birmingham, AL) in 2017 (and Susan's husband, James Mendelson in 2008), and her youngest son, James Hollingshead (Maitland, FL) in July 2020. She had also lost her brother Joe Ross (Ruston, LA) in 2011. She is survived by her son, Jonathan (and his wife Jeanne) Hollingshead (Winter Park, FL), her daughter Sarah (and her husband Art Mandler) Tambor (Asheville, NC), and James' wife, Lisa Hollingshead (Maitland, FL), as well as her 7 grandchildren, Daniel Hollingshead (Charlottesville, VA), Sam Hollingshead (Winter Park), Emily Hollingshead (Altamonte Springs), Adrian Tambor (Asheville, NC), Jackson Tambor (Asheville, NC), Leah Hollingshead (Austin, TX), and Christy Hollingshead (Atlanta, GA). She is also survived by her brother, James (Doris) Lowry (Altamonte Springs, FL), and her sister Lanora (Bart) Brorsen, and many of her Lowry, Brorsen and Ross nieces and nephews.

Memorial gifts may be made to the charity of your choice. Lou lived her life to help others and there are many in need these days. Be kind to others and forgive those who have wronged you in her memory. These are all things that would make Lou smile. The world always needs more love, and Lou's passing leaves us with a sizable hole to fill.