Longtime City of Falls Church resident Holly D. Fellows, wife of 53 years of John, mother of Jody and Emily, grandmother of Juliette, Eve, Ryleigh and Logan, passed away of heart failure on April 11 at INOVA Alexandria Hospital. She was 72 years old.

Holly and John moved to Falls Church in 1975 and saw Jody and Emily graduate from George Mason High School. Holly had some of her most memorable and joyful work experiences as a nurse’s aide and bus aide at Mount Daniel Elementary School. She loved her family’s experiences in the city, her participation in the Girl Scouts and the many friends she met.

Holly was born Dec. 16, 1946 in New York City to Madeline and William Prince. She was the eldest of four children along with sisters, Billie and Cheryl, and brother, Randall.

Holly and John met while attending Port Jefferson High School in Port Jefferson, New York. They became high school sweethearts and were married in 1965. Aware of several goals they intended to accomplish, including her husband’s tour in the Navy and completing his college degree, Holly put on her working shoes and after tours with the Suffolk County Police Department on Long Island, she followed John to a tour in Washington and quickly secured tours with the FBI and subsequently the CIA. Finally, John graduated college, landed employment with the intelligence community to at last give Holly a bit of a break and 13 years then slipped by. At last it was family planning time with Jody arriving in 1978 and Emily in 1985.

Holly settled into the next 44 years watching her children grow, mature and raise families of their own.

Although Holly suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for more than 40 years and was in significant pain, which in the last few years of her life saw her using a walker and travel chair to get around, as the lyrics go, she was never fully dressed without a smile.

A memorial service will take place this Saturday, April 26 from 2 – 4 p.m. at Everly Funeral Home, 6161 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church.