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Roanna Holladay, 66

Roanna Holladay, 66, passed away on Nov. 24, 2019. She was born in Pocatello, Idaho, on May 19, 1953, to her loving parents, Ruth and Jayson Holladay. Roanna attended Whittier Grade School, Franklin Jr. High, and graduated from Highland High School in 1976. Roanna spent 50 years of her life living on Bannock Highway in Pocatello, in the beautiful home her parents built in 1957. She had a happy life there and was lovingly cared for by her parents.

For many years she attended and worked at New Day Products. For a time she also worked at Idaho Bank and Trust, shredding sensitive documents.

Roanna loved coloring with crayons and markers of all hues, but yellow was her favorite color of all. She was fascinated by words, had a remarkable vocabulary and enjoyed spelling games and word puzzles that stimulated her natural gift for juggling the alphabet. Roanna loved music and would whistle along to her favorites, including songs by Neil Diamond and John Denver. “Not a whistler” she would often say after hearing a song that didn’t catch her fancy.

Roanna took countless trips over the years with her parents to Yellowstone Park and the Grand Tetons. The family also visited southern California every January, where Roanna enjoyed collecting shells on the beach and going to Disneyland with her parents and younger brother, Lance.

After the death of her parents, Roanna lived with several caring families in Pocatello and then moved to Northern Idaho to be near her sister, Dawn, in Spokane, Wash. For the past several years she had resided with her caregiver, Kirsten Diaz, and lived in their family home in Athol, Idaho. Roanna’s family will be eternally grateful for the amazing care and love she has received while living there. For the past seven years she has attended classes and social activities at TESH in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Roanna is survived by her sister, Dawn Holladay (husband, Bill Siems); her brother, Lance Holladay (wife, Camille); nieces Zoë Heimdal and Marcelle Heimdal and nephew, Mason Holladay. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jayson Holladay and Ruth Roberts Holladay; her paternal grandparents, N.C. and Verna Holladay and maternal grandparents, Loo and Mamie Roberts; as well as several aunts and uncles.

Roanna was a sweet soul. She was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. in Pocatello, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2019, at the Gibson Jack LDS Ward on Portneuf Road. Roanna will be buried next to her parents in Mountain View Cemetery in Pocatello.