Harriet Fisher "Hattie" Holstrom

1920 - 2015

Harriet "Hattie" Fisher Holstrom
1920 ~ 2015
Carmel Valley, CA
Harriet 'Hattie' Fisher Holstrom died peacefully in her sleep with her eldest son by her side on January 21, 2015, at Carmel Valley Manor, where she had been living since 2003. She was 94.
The eldest of two children, Harriet was born in 1920 in Spokane, Washington to J.R.M. Fisher III, an accountant for Northern Pacific railroad, and Vivian Broom Fisher. After moving with her parents to Tacoma, Washington, she attended Mason Junior High School and graduated from Stadium High School in 1938. She then attended Stanford University for three years, making life-long friends in Gamma Phi Beta sorority and relishing her work on the Stanford Daily. She married Everett Wayne 'Brick' Holstrom from Cottage Grove, Oregon, a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps on August 30, 1941. Brick was a pilot on the Doolittle Tokyo Raid, and upon returning from the Far East in 1943, he and Hattie traveled together selling U.S. War bonds.
Brick and Hattie decided to make the Air Force his career. Hattie had her hands full, keeping and moving the household frequently while caring for an expanding family—five children born between 1942 and 1949. As Brick's career progressed, her social responsibilities as an Air Force wife grew, from volunteer work, to the officers' wives club, to hostess at formal functions. Her cheerful and fun-loving disposition was balanced by compassion for others and loving warmth. She enjoyed reading, writing, and music, most especially, opera. For his final assignment, Brick requested a station in Europe, where she had always wanted to live. They were in Paris and Mons, Belgium, for three years and traveled extensively. Hattie took French, painting, and cooking lessons.
Brick became director of Carmel Valley Manor in October of 1969, and shortly after they bought their first house overlooking the valley. Their active life of travel, golf, and gardening continued unabated until Brick died in 2000. Hattie moved into an apartment in Carmel Valley Manor two years later. She continued to travel and garden as long as she was able.
Hattie is survived by her five children, seven grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.