Nellie Mae Holdeman

MULVANE – Holdeman, Nellie Mae, died Thursday, September 8, 2011 in Victoria Falls Nursing Home after a series of small strokes. Nellie was born in Herman, Minnesota, July 8 1915, to William Kitterman and Ella Knox. The family was in Minnesota as her father, a thrasher machine engineer, worked the wheat harvest north. She was raised in Gypsum, Kansas with her six brothers and sisters where she attended high school and later earned her license in cosmetology. On July 3 1933, Nellie was married in Jefferson City, Missouri to Richard John “Shorty” Holdeman, her husband of 33 years. Together they operated a beauty/barber shop business first in Durham and later in Mulvane opening a shop on Main Street in 1950 where they lived and worked until Shorty’s death in 1966, also providing shoe shines. Nellie was a lifetime member of Eastern Star and a member of Mulvane United Methodist Church. She was a tireless volunteer in the community and an avid bowler winning trophies in many senior tournaments. Nellie is survived by her elder brother Howard Kitterman of Manhattan and numerous nieces and nephews through out Kansas and the country. She was preceded in death by her husband Shorty and five of her siblings, John, Lester, Myrtle, Lola and Flossie. Visitation 1-8pm Tuesday, September 13, with family present 3-6pm; funeral service 1pm Wednesday, September 14, both at Senter-Smith Mortuary, 501 S.E. Louis Blvd., Mulvane. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Friends of Felines animal care foundation.