Obituary: Katherine Dawn Holster

Katherine Dawn Holster of Levelland, educator and pastor’s wife, died Sept. 29. She was 63. She was born in Tucumcari, N.M., on Nov. 23, 1956, to H. Don and Joan Smith. She graduated from Robertson High School in Las Vegas, N.M., in 1974. She attended college at West Texas State University and graduated magna cum laude in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree and a certificate in secondary education. She married Michael Holster on July 29, 1978, in Canyon. She served faithfully as the wife of a minister as her husband served churches in Hobbs, O’Donnell, Slaton, Memphis, Floydada and Midland, and for the past 17 years, Second Baptist Church Levelland. Holster was devoted to making disciples and to teaching the Bible, serving as Sunday school teacher, Vacation Bible School leader and Bible Drill instructor. She baked countless casseroles and loaves of bread to serve those in need. She was an educator and a life-long learner who believed math is the foundation for problem-solving and critical thinking. She taught in the Amarillo, Tulia, Floydada, Stanton, Greenwood and Levelland school districts. Holster obtained her master’s degree in education from Wayland Baptist University in 2006, and she served on faculty in the mathematics department at South Plains College for 14 years, retiring in 2017. She loved reading, baking, going on nature walks and making crafts with her grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a sister, Della Boley. She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Michael Holster; son, Scot Holster and wife Mindy Michelle of Abilene; son, Sean Holster and wife Mindy Alaine of Brenham; five grandchildren; mother, Joan Smith of Levelland; sister, Donna Hinders of Los Lunas, N.M.; and brother, Robert Smith of Okmulgee Okla. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the lighting fund at Second Baptist Church, Levelland, South Plains College Scholarship Foundation, or to the charity of choice.