Marian Ruth Holicky

Marian Holicky (Lippovitz) passed away peacefully at 10:30 P.M. on Wednesday, October 22nd, while under hospice care at Aurora Hospital in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. She was surrounded by her children, grandchildren and extended family in the days leading up to her death, and enjoyed the love, respect, attention and conversation affectionately extended to her in her final days.

Born in 1928 in LaCrosse, WI, she met her future husband, Bill Holicky, while they both attended LaCrosse Aquinas Catholic High School. Family lore states that Bill was at football practice in the Fall of 1942 and saw Marian ride by on her bicycle...took one look at her...and said to himself that she was the girl he was going to marry. They dated through HS and college, even though she attended UW-Lacrosse while Bill went away to study pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Bill returned to his hometown of Lacrosse and wed Marian, his high school sweetheart, on June 23rd, 1950, at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church.

World events intervened to change their plans, as Bill served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict from 1950 to 1951, and Marian graduated with a teaching degree and began her career as an elementary school teacher in Racine, Wisconsin. She and Bill both returned to LaCrosse, WI, in 1952, and established themselves in both their personal and professional lives ...she as an educator and he as a pharmacist. Marian gave birth to their children in 1954 (Julie), 1955 (Laurie) and 1959 ( Doug).

During their over 70 years together, Marian and Bill traveled the world and made it a goal to visit each of the seven continents. They finally achieved this ambition when they went on an extended cruise along the Antarctic coast, going ashore frequently to visit with the penguins and other wildlife. Other adventures that Marian and Bill experienced were a hot air balloon ride across the mountains of Turkey; attending the1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia; taking a safari in Africa; strolling along The Great Wall of China; skiing in the Swiss Alps; riding camels in North Africa and snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef along the coast of Australia. Marian's heart and generosity came to be as large as the wide world she explored with her husband.

In 2003 her husband Bill suffered a stroke that impaired his ability to speak. Marian didn't let anything disrupt her love of either her husband or her family and friends. For 19 years she displayed a quality and strength of character that carried the family through the challenges of Bill's disability until his death in 2021. Despite this loss, Marian took up the mantle as the loving matriarch of an expanding family. She experienced the joy of seeing her own children establish families of their own and was an affectionate and influential presence in the lives of her six grandchildren: Rebecca, Rachel, Grace, Matthew, Emily and Emma.

During the last years of her life she was able to hold in her arms her seven great grandchildren: Ella, Andrew, Luca, Scarlet, Lucy, Jonah, and Hayden. As the family watched her gaze into the eyes of these gifts to the family's future... we all imagined the immortality that may have comforted her as she approached the end of her life. The memories she has left in the hearts of our family express just how precious a presence she was in all our lives. We love you Marian.

A service honoring her life will be held at 1:00 P.M. at Evergreen Retirement Community in Oshkosh. Refreshments to follow.