Individual Details
Margaret Frances Guinn
(3 Sep 1915 - 1 Oct 2012)
Obituary for Margaret G. Holt
Longtime Durango resident Margaret G. Holt died Monday, October 1, 2012, at Sunshine Gardens West. She was 97.
Mrs. Holt was born on September 3, 1915, in Childress County, Texas, to Clarence Allen Guinn and Myrtle Frances (Gilmer) Guinn. Her ancestors were from pioneer Texas families, including her great-grandfather, who was given a Spanish land grant of a “league and a labor of land.”
Mrs. Holt spent her formative years on the Texas Plains that had been part of the Great XIT Ranch, once the largest spread in the world under fence and covering parts of ten Texas counties. Her fond memories of those early years brought her lifelong pleasure and comfort. She especially enjoyed recalling stories of her parents’ generosity to friends and neighbors during the Depression years and vividly remembered the first Dust Bowl storm that blew across their farm when she was a girl.
Mrs. Holt attended school in Friona, Texas, where she graduated high school in 1933. In the midst of the Great Depression, funds were not available for her to attend college, but she saved her money for two years and attended beauty school in Amarillo, Texas. Following graduation, she managed a beauty shop in Muleshoe, Texas. There, she met and married Arthur W. ("Bits") Holt on December 11, 1937.
The Holts and their three young daughters moved to Durango in 1947, when Mr. Holt and his brother Gale Holt purchased the Highland Motel and Service Station.
Mrs. Holt is remembered by family and friends as an elegant, gracious, and multi-talented woman. She was an expert seamstress who created designer touches to the clothes she made. She designed and sewed matching outfits for her three young daughters (at least until her two older daughters protested about being dressed like their youngest sister).
An excellent and creative cook, Mrs. Holt once designed a birthday cake to look like an open diary for daughter Ann Gross. In beautiful icing script she wrote, “Dear Diary, Today I am eleven years old.” Her daughters also recall family stories about friends who wanted to go hunting with their late father just to enjoy his wife's famous fudge cakes and southern chess pies.
Mrs. Holt was a perennial room mother at her daughters’ schools and taught Sunday school classes at the First Baptist Church of Durango. She was a member of the Durango Sewing Club (later, “The Club”) that spanned six decades and she was an active member and President of Chapter BR, P.E.O.
After her husband’s retirement in 1975, Mr. and Mrs. Holt moved to Brownwood, Texas, and Farmington before returning to Durango in 1995.
Mrs. Holt was preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Arthur W. Holt, and her three brothers Allen Guinn, James Guinn, and John Charles (“Pete”) Guinn.
She is survived by daughters Kay Baker and Susan Reese of Durango and Ann Gross of Camino, California; grandsons Todd Baker of Norman, Oklahoma, Brett Baker of Houston, Texas, Grant Baker of North Arlington, Virginia, Joshua Gross of Durango, David Frost of California, and Adam Gross of Palos Verdes, California; five great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews, including Gary Robison of Durango.
A memorial service for Mrs. Holt will be held at a later date and followed by a private burial at Greenmount Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Mercy, One Mercado Street, Suite 270, Durango, CO 81301.
Longtime Durango resident Margaret G. Holt died Monday, October 1, 2012, at Sunshine Gardens West. She was 97.
Mrs. Holt was born on September 3, 1915, in Childress County, Texas, to Clarence Allen Guinn and Myrtle Frances (Gilmer) Guinn. Her ancestors were from pioneer Texas families, including her great-grandfather, who was given a Spanish land grant of a “league and a labor of land.”
Mrs. Holt spent her formative years on the Texas Plains that had been part of the Great XIT Ranch, once the largest spread in the world under fence and covering parts of ten Texas counties. Her fond memories of those early years brought her lifelong pleasure and comfort. She especially enjoyed recalling stories of her parents’ generosity to friends and neighbors during the Depression years and vividly remembered the first Dust Bowl storm that blew across their farm when she was a girl.
Mrs. Holt attended school in Friona, Texas, where she graduated high school in 1933. In the midst of the Great Depression, funds were not available for her to attend college, but she saved her money for two years and attended beauty school in Amarillo, Texas. Following graduation, she managed a beauty shop in Muleshoe, Texas. There, she met and married Arthur W. ("Bits") Holt on December 11, 1937.
The Holts and their three young daughters moved to Durango in 1947, when Mr. Holt and his brother Gale Holt purchased the Highland Motel and Service Station.
Mrs. Holt is remembered by family and friends as an elegant, gracious, and multi-talented woman. She was an expert seamstress who created designer touches to the clothes she made. She designed and sewed matching outfits for her three young daughters (at least until her two older daughters protested about being dressed like their youngest sister).
An excellent and creative cook, Mrs. Holt once designed a birthday cake to look like an open diary for daughter Ann Gross. In beautiful icing script she wrote, “Dear Diary, Today I am eleven years old.” Her daughters also recall family stories about friends who wanted to go hunting with their late father just to enjoy his wife's famous fudge cakes and southern chess pies.
Mrs. Holt was a perennial room mother at her daughters’ schools and taught Sunday school classes at the First Baptist Church of Durango. She was a member of the Durango Sewing Club (later, “The Club”) that spanned six decades and she was an active member and President of Chapter BR, P.E.O.
After her husband’s retirement in 1975, Mr. and Mrs. Holt moved to Brownwood, Texas, and Farmington before returning to Durango in 1995.
Mrs. Holt was preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Arthur W. Holt, and her three brothers Allen Guinn, James Guinn, and John Charles (“Pete”) Guinn.
She is survived by daughters Kay Baker and Susan Reese of Durango and Ann Gross of Camino, California; grandsons Todd Baker of Norman, Oklahoma, Brett Baker of Houston, Texas, Grant Baker of North Arlington, Virginia, Joshua Gross of Durango, David Frost of California, and Adam Gross of Palos Verdes, California; five great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews, including Gary Robison of Durango.
A memorial service for Mrs. Holt will be held at a later date and followed by a private burial at Greenmount Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Mercy, One Mercado Street, Suite 270, Durango, CO 81301.
Events
Families
Spouse | Arthur Wheeler "Bits" Holt (1913 - 2004) |
Child | Living |
Child | Living |
Child | Living |
Notes
Census (family)
Arthur W Holt Head Male 26 Texas - Agent, wholesale oil Co.Margaret Holt Wife Female 24 Texas
Frances Kay Holt Daughter Female 1 Texas
Residence
Margaret Guinn HoltEvent Type: Residence
Event Date: 3 Nov 2004
Event Place: Durango, La Plata, Colorado, United States
Event Place (Original): Durango, Colorado, United States
Phone Number: (970) 259-9510
Previous Residence: Durango, Colorado 81301
Previous Residence Postal Code: 81301
Birth Date: 3 Sep 1915
Second Previous Residence Place: Durango, Colorado 81301
Third Previous Residence Place: Durango, Colorado 81301
2nd Address Date: 1 Jan 2002-01 Jan 2009
3rd Address Date: 1 May 1995-01 Jan 2004
Death
United States Social Security Death IndexMargaret G Holt
State Texas
Age 97
Birth Date 03 Sep 1915
Death Date 01 Oct 2012
Obituary
Deceased Name: Mrs Margaret G HoltEvent Type: Obituary
Event Date: 06 Oct 2012
Event Place: Colorado, United States
Residence Place: Durango, Colorado
Residence Date: 01 Oct 2012
Sex: Female
Age: 97
Occupation: Perennial Room Mother
[President]
Birth Date: 03 Sep 1915
Birthplace: Childress County, Texas
Death Date: 01 Oct 2012
Newspaper: Durango Herald, The
Spouse and Children
Arthur W Holt Husband Male
Ann Gross Daughter Female
Kay Baker Daughter Female
Susan Reese Daughter Female
Ann Gross Daughter Female
Parents and Siblings
Clarence Allen Guinn Father Male
Myrtle Frances Gilmer Guinn Mother Female
Gale Holt Brother Male
Others on Record
Arthur W Holt Unknown Male
Or Bits Holt Unknown Unknown
Burial
Longitude -107.887497Latitude 37.27528
Endnotes
1. United States Census, 1940 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWNX-V7S.
2. United States Public Records, 1970-2009 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:29DM-7VV.
3. United States Social Security Death Index https://www.familysearch.org/search/ark:/61903/1:1:KZP1-6SM.
4. United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKG1-2YGD.
5. Find a Grave Memorial 224076592.
6. BillionGraves Index https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDL-MZDZ.