Alta Holden

Alta Helen Holden, 85, of Chambersburg, PA, passed away Wednesday morning, November 2, 2022 at the Chambersburg Hospital. Born December 9, 1936 in Chambersburg, she was a daughter of Scott Winfield and Leda Alta Newell Starr. She was a graduate of the former Quincy High School and went on to earn a degree in Chemistry from Penn State Mont Alto.
She retired from Letterkenny Army Depot where she worked in finance and accounting and then was employed for a number of years at Carter Lumber. She had also owned and operated Holden’s Loving Stitches for many years. Mrs. Holden was a member and former Deacon at Central Presbyterian Church in Chambersburg. She was a life member and Past State President of the Marine Corps League Ladies Auxiliary; a life member of the Charles Nitterhouse Post 1599 VFW Auxiliary; and was a member of the Cumberland Valley 21 Day Retreat. She enjoyed gardening and sewing. Her first husband, John William Strayer, Sr., preceded her in death in 1970 and her second husband, Richard B. Holden preceded her in death in 1994.

She is survived by three children, Deborah S. Shauf and husband Dennis, John W. Strayer and wife Crystal, and Preston L. Strayer, all of Chambersburg; five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; four sisters, Ida May Gochenaur, Mary Hartman, Betty Jo Sipe, and Joyce Mellott; and a brother, David W. Starr. In addition to her parents and husbands, she was preceded in death by a sister, Patsy Kauffman; a granddaughter, Christy Strayer; and a great-granddaughter, Maliyah Shauf.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM Monday, November 7, 2022 at Central Presbyterian Church, 40 Lincoln Way West, Chambersburg, PA. Rev. Scott A. Bowerman will officiate. Interment will follow at Gipe’s Grove Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00-8:00 PM Sunday at Thomas L. Geisel Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 333 Fallling Spring Road, Chambersburg, PA and from 10:00-11:00 AM on Monday at the church.