Mary Alice (Molly) Sophia Dilts Holloway Susnjara, age 99 of Santa Claus

Mary Alice (Molly) Sophia Dilts Holloway Susnjara of Santa Claus, Indiana, previously of Evansville and Sun City, Arizona, passed away on Sunday, November 24, 2024, at the age of 99 and 10 months. 

She was born on January 12, 1925, to Charles A. and Janet C. (Keitzer) Dilts in Monterey, Indiana. She was a graduate of Monterey High School and the St. Joseph School of Nursing in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

Mary Alice served in the Cadet Nurse Corps from 1944 to 1946 while a student. The Cadet Nurses worked at hospitals due to the shortage of nurses on the home front. She remained on call following the end of World War II, working in the Medical/Surgical Department of Garfield Memorial Hospital in Washington D.C. where she regularly saw President Harry S. Truman and his entourage taking a morning walk on Pennsylvania Avenue. 

She married Thomas Holloway in 1946. They had four children. Mary Alice spent most of her working years as an Occupational Health Nurse at Alcoa in Newburgh, Indiana, retiring in the early 1980s. 

She also served as the President of the Indiana Occupational Health Nurses Association and taught the subject at University of Evansville. Mary Alice married John Eli Susnjara in 1983 and was preceded in death by John in 2009. She enjoyed writing short stories, reading, and playing cards with friends and family. She was a member of the Christmas Lake Bridge Club, the Christmas Lake Garden Club, and the Red Hat Society. The family has fond memories of her and their many great gatherings at the Christmas Lake house (“the treehouse”). 

Mary Alice is survived by her children, Thomas Holloway of Louisville, KY, Jane Ruder of Evansville, IN, Kevin (Pamela) Holloway, of Brighton, MI, and Mark (Brett Ann) Holloway, of Zionsville, IN, as well as her grandchildren Heidi Bailey, Jill Ruder, Francine Jochum, Kati Noakes, Amanda Lindemann, Nathan Holloway, Natalie Guitar, Noah Holloway, and Henry Holloway, as well as many great- grandchildren. She is also survived by her sisters Maxine Houser of Santa Claus, Barbara Winters of Culver, IN, and Jon (Anne) Dilts of Bloomington, IN, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She is also survived by her stepchildren Ken (Linda) Susnjara of Birdseye, IN and Bonnie Behling of Fishers, IN, as well as several step grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

Mary Alice was preceded in death by her brothers Alan and James Dilts as well as her former husband Thomas Holloway, Sr. 

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Santa Claus on Monday, December 2, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. CST local time (11:30 a.m. EST). The Rite of Committal and burial will take place at a later date in Monterey, IN.