Betty Sue Embery Holman, 86, recently of Crimora, Va, wife of the late James Martin Holman, Sr., died Wednesday, February 24, 2021 in Fishersville, Va. Born June 12, 1934 in Brownie, a coal camp in Muhlenberg County that later became part of Central City, to the late Zirkle C. and Ruby Evelyn Waddle Embery, she was a member of the Russellville Kentucky United Methodist Temple. Betty graduated from Central City High School in 1952. As young women, she, with her black hair, and her sister, Jane, who was blond, turned many heads working as models for the local JC Penney store.
In 1953 she met James Holman of Russellville, while he was on leave from the U. S. Navy, and they were married the next year in National City, Calif. Long-time residents of Harrison and Crawford Counties in southern Indiana, Betty and Jim operated the Horseshoe Bend Marina and Campground in Leavenworth for a number of years. Known for her passion for cooking, Mrs. Holman was the manager of a supermarket deli and bakery, before later opening Betty’s Catering in conjunction with her husband’s restaurant, Jimbo’s Barbecue, in Corydon, Ind. Throughout her life Betty was known as beautiful and spunky and always having something to say. She was preceded in death by her sister, Jane Carolyn Embery Wolfe.
Survivors include sons, James Martin Holman, Jr. of Tokushima, Japan and Jeffrey Mason Holman of Drummond, Mont.; daughter, Susan Beth Holman Smith of Crimora, Va.; grandchildren, Katherine Beth Holman Samuel of Richmond, Ky., Ethan James Holman of Manchester, N.H., Amanda Dawn Holman Parks of Cody, Wyo., Jordan Martin Holman of Columbia, Mo. and Aaron Nathaniel Smith of Crimora, Va; great-grandchildren, Stephan, David, and Sophie Samuel; Evelyn Holman; and Aiden, Alex, and Charlotte Parks; sister, Patti Jo Embery Wilson, of Owensboro.
No funeral will be conducted, but a memorial service will be scheduled for a later date when conditions allow for a gathering of friends and family. Burial will be in Maple Grove Cemetery in Russellville. Given Betty’s life-long concern with feeding as many people as possible and the pleasure she and her husband took as recipients of Meals on Wheels, donations for local food banks and meal programs that serve the elderly are requested in lieu of flowers.
