Rita Zachary Holden

1939 - 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 Bachelors 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, NM, 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 the 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; nieces & nephews, and many cousins and extended family.

There will be a memorial at the Kristen Armstrong Municipal Park, at the Ash Picnic area on Saturday, September 27, 2025, 3:00-8:00 p.m.