Ruth Christine Holloway

Ruth “Tina” Holloway passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 3, 2025, from complications created by dementia. Tina was 90 years old and very loved by her family.

Tina was born on April 2, 1935, at home in a one room cabin near Rover, Missouri, in Oregon County. She was the first of three daughters and two sons born to Henry and Irene (Mobley) Smith. Being the oldest, the birth of each new sibling was accompanied by a new responsibility for Tina at a very young age.

As a nine-year-old, her family moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, where she resided until June 1968 when her own family moved to Topeka, Kansas. While in Hutchinson she married, and her family became a family of five when she gave birth to three sons: Alan, Robert and Ronald. Tina’s education had been put on hold, so once her children were in school, she drove herself to the high school and ultimately earned her GED.

Tina was a homemaker for many years before starting her career. Tina held her first job at the age of twelve and was not afraid of hard work. As her career in the field of finance began unfolding, she worked diligently and impressed supervisor after supervisor with her attention to detail, thoughtful learning, and commitment to improving herself with each new job and position. She worked as an area manager for an H&R Block franchise and for the State of Kansas. She spent 22 years with the State in the Department of Revenue, income and inheritance tax bureau, before retiring in Feb. 1998.

Tina had a never-give-up-or-give-in attitude. Her philosophy was, “Believe in yourself and find your own voice. You have something important to say.”

She was always a loving, caring mother and grandmother. She enjoyed reading, gardening and spending time with family. She was a member of the Hutchinson First Church of the Nazarene and then Topeka First Church of the Nazarene.

Survivors include sons, Alan Holloway (Cathy) and Ronald Holloway; grandsons, Brian Holloway (Kelli), Aaron Holloway (Danielle) and Matthew Holloway (Cay); granddaughter, Alexandra Posch (Andrew); seven great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter; and brothers, Jim Smith and Loyd Smith.

Tina was preceded in death by her parents; son, Robert Holloway; daughter-in-law, Kathrine Holloway; and sisters, Hazel Brawner and Nancy Olson.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, May 12, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. in the Topeka First Church of the Nazarene Chapel, 1001 SW Buchanan Topeka, Kansas. Followed by an internment at Mt. Hope Cemetery, located at 4700 SW 17th, Topeka.

In lieu of flowers, please make online gifts in memory of Ruth Holloway to the Dementia Society of America at: www.DementiaSociety.org/donate.

The family wishes to thank the staff at McCrite Health Center for the exceptional care provided to Tina over the last 24 months.