EILLEN MARY HOLZWARTH

Eillen Mary Holzwarth of Brownsville passed away March 5, 2021 at Gundersen after a short illness. She was born on December 18, 1926 to John and Dorothy (Witt) Rohrer and was a lifelong resident of Brownsville. Many knew Eillen as “Toot’. Her Dad nicknamed her “Tootsie” when she was small and later family and friends called her “Toot”. She married Aaron Holzwarth on May 23, 1950. He passed away on December 30, 1968. Mom attended Cosmetology School in La Crosse and after graduation worked for several years at the Marinello Salon in downtown La Crosse. She also managed her parent’s tavern in Brownsville for a time before she married. Mom was the ultimate homemaker all through her life. She liked to keep her house and yard nice and tidy. She also enjoyed baking right up until the week before her illness. She shared many delicious cookies, cakes, and muffins with family and friends all through her years. After Dad passed away, Mom worked at the A&W Root Beer Stand as well as at her sister and brother in law’s store, Corcoran’s Grocery, both in Brownsville. In 1973 Mom began working at Ed Phillips & Sons in La Crosse and worked there for more than a dozen years. Mom was a lifelong member of St. Patrick’s Church in Brownsville and enjoyed her involvement in St. Anne’s Circle. She was a member of the Auxiliary to VFW Post 6801 in Brownsville since 1965, serving as secretary for 20 years. Mom is survived by her children and their spouses, Janet and John Chamberlain of Ypsilanti, MI, John and Julie Holzwarth of Brownsville, and Joan and Calvin Mitchell of La Crescent. She is further survived by 9 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, and 1 great great grandchild. She cherished each and every one of them as they do her. She is also survived by sister-in-law Virginia Rohrer, and many nieces and nephews. Mom was the oldest of her siblings Marcelin Corcoran, Ronald Rohrer, and Donald Rohrer. They all preceded her in death as did an infant grandson. We were lucky to have Mom for 94 plus years. She had a serious, strong, and independent spirit and we will forever love and miss her. Our family would like to sincerely thank the Fitzpatrick family and Brickman’s for being such great neighbors to Mom over the years. Thank you to the 6th floor Medical Oncology staff at Gundersen for the excellent care they provided Mom and our family. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 1 PM on Saturday, May 29th, 2021, at St.Patrick's Catholic Church, Brownsville. Father John Evans will officiate and burial will be in Veteran's Cemetery, Brownsville. Visitation will be from 11:30 am to 1 pm before the service at the church. The service will be livestreamed on St. Patrick's Parish Facebook page. We kindly request that masks be worn and social distancing practiced.

EILLEN MARY HOLZWARTH

December 18, 1926 - March 5, 2021