Rita Jane Holden

Jul 1, 1939 -

May 31, 2025

Rita Jane (Zachary) Holden, age 85, passed of natural causes on May 31, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. Rita was born in American Falls, Idaho, on July 1, 1939, to Rodney and Virginia (Rigney) Zachary. Her parents owned the Western Store in McCall, Idaho, where she grew up, and in 1957 graduated from McCall Donnelly High School. Rita attended Willamette University before transferring to the University of Idaho where she earned a bachelor's degree and met and married Bo Holden in 1961. They moved to Boise in 1970, where they raised their family. In 1984, Rita was hired by the Idaho Refugee Program helping refugee families settle in the Treasure Valley.

She moved to Alaska in 1992, to be near her grandchildren and continued working with refugee families. Rita was a great conversationalist with a keen sense of style and appreciation for art, which fit well into her next phase of life working in retail shops with local artists.

In 2008, she had the opportunity to help create a ministry in Palomera, N.M., before moving back to Boise where she reconnected with all her social groups. In 2020, Rita moved back to Alaska where she survived an aggressive oral cancer. In 2022, she moved into the Chugiak Senior Center where she made many new friends and enjoyed social gatherings. Rita had many P.E.O. "sisters" in AK and ID, and for 51 years was proud to be part of its philanthropic mission to raise money for women's education.

Rita never missed a chance to socialize and became a fixture at family gatherings where her good humor and conversation were always welcomed. She was grateful for her relationships and her greatest joy was spending time with her treasured grandchildren, family and friends. She was loved and will be missed by all that knew her.

Rita was preceded in death by her parents; son-in-law, Brad Smith; and brother-in-law, Henry Phillips.

She is survived by her daughters, Jennifer (Holden) Rearick and husband Richard, and Dawn Holden-Smith; granddaughter, Sara (Rearick) Murray and husband Nick; grandson, Alex Rearick and wife Brooke Bullard; sister, Gayle Zachary-Phillips; brother, Tom Zachary; and many cousins and extended family.

There will be a memorial at the Chugiak Senior Center on July 19, 2025, at 4 p.m.