Verna Triplett Holder

Mrs. Verna Triplett Holder, 102, passed away Thursday, August 9, 2015 at Village Care of King. She was born in Purlear, NC on March 22, 1913 to the late Arthur Lee and Lillie A. Triplett. In 1931, she moved to Winston-Salem, where she met her husband of 64 years, the late Clyde Robert Holder, and worked for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company as an administrative assistant until 1948. Holder was an entrepreneur of her time - combining her passions for doll-making, candle-making, and sewing into a full-time home business. Damaged dolls arrived at her doorstep from all over the country, and she expertly brought the childhood relics back to life. She became one of the largest suppliers of beeswax candles for the Moravian Church Lovefeast in Winston-Salem, which she fashioned from start to finish in her kitchen (aided by her banker husband who moonlighted as a candle-mold maker and her only son, Thomas Robert Holder, who was known to make a wax hand or two out of her pot of melted beeswax). As she hummed along to the gentle hammering of her sewing machine, she let out pant waistlines for neighbors and friends from her loved church, Wesley Memorial United Methodist. A few dollars here. A few dollars there. She built her own empire. Mrs. Holder was adventurous-traveling from her childhood mountain farm to the Middle East-and fiercely loyal to her family. Every night, she called one of her sisters, Marie Laster, to chat about the day's events. She spent her weekends shopping and lunching with her grandchildren, Christina Holder and Bobbie Holder Robinson. A great joy of her life was getting to meet her great-grandson Samuel Chase Robinson in 2011 when she was 98 years old. Preceding her in death was her husband, Clyde Robert Holder; four sisters, Ruby Laws, Doris Woodie, Marie Laster, and Minnie Miller and a brother, Wade Triplett. Surviving is a son, Thomas R. Holder and wife Donnie, two granddaughters, Christina Holder, Bobbie Holder Robinson and husband Kyle; also surviving is a great-grandson, Samuel Chase Robinson. A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 8, 2015 at Forsyth Memorial Park with Rev. Bret Cogan officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association Western Carolina, 3800 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, NC 28215.

Previous Events

Cemetery Details

Memorial Contribution