Evelyn was born and raised in Mankato, Minnesota on November 15, 1926 to her parents, Charles and Katherine Schmidt. She had a wonderful childhood growing up with two brothers and two sisters. As a child she enjoyed winter sports such as skiing and ice skating and was so accomplished that she performed in her high school Ice Follies. Being raised in the Catholic faith she received her primary education at the Saint Peter and Paul parochial school and then attended high school at Our Lady of Good Counsel where she graduated as valedictorian. She then went to the prestigious St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Rochester, Minn. where she worked and trained alongside medical professionals from the Mayo Clinic; at one time she actually made rounds of the patients with Dr. Benjamin Spock! At graduation she was awarded her RN certificate, after which she did some traveling with her best friend and nurse colleague, Dottie. During a trip to Mexico City, Evelyn happened to have met another American whose name was Ross Holloway. After returning stateside Evelyn and Ross continued to see each other, fell in love and then got married on Nov 29,1952, and were happily married until his death in 2011. During their 59 years of marriage they raised three children, built and made their home on three different sailboats, and had numerous and noteworthy sailing adventures in the Atlantic, Pacific and Caribbean Sea. Evelyn, always the avid reader and student, embraced the challenge of learning new things. When she and Ross decided to cruise on their sailboat, she read a book about celestial navigation and learned how to use a sextant to locate their position in the middle of the ocean. In her 70’s she learned how to use a PC and was in fact texting emojis on her iPhone a few weeks before she passed.

They bought a home in Orange, CA where they raised their three children and Evelyn worked as an ER nurse at Martin Luther General Hospital. Later on they moved to the east coast where she worked as a nurse in an assisted living facility. While they lived in Panama she was a supervising nurse for over 10 years at Gorgas Hospital in Balboa. Ross and Evelyn both retired and moved to Arizona in 1987. After Ross passed, Evelyn packed up and settled on Whidbey Island to be closer to family.

Evelyn was a loving and devoted wife, a caring and loving mother, a wonderful friend, an insightful thinker, an example of perseverance, and a devoted follower of Jesus. Her warm smile and infectious laughter will be missed by friends and family alike.

She is survived by her three children, Deidre Ann Ward, Ross Jr., and Mark. Also by 8 grandchildren  and 11 great grandchildren  

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