Katherine Louise Olson Holdaway passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by her family, on May 26, 2026, after being diagnosed with cancer eight days prior.

Kathie was born on March 5, 1946, in Middletown, Connecticut, to Carl Hakan Olson and Katherine Louise Dahl Olson. She was the middle of three children and had two brothers, Carl Olson Jr. and Johnny Olson.

At the age of three, her family sold their Connecticut dairy farm and moved to Willard, Utah. Her father was a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and wanted his family to be closer to the LDS community. She attended Box Elder High School and was a proud Box Elder Bee. She participated in the pep club/Rockettes, was a member of the Future Homemakers of America, and was president of the Safety Council.

Kathie attended Snow College, graduating with her associate’s degree in 1966. She then attended Utah State University in the business education program. After realizing how much her parents were sacrificing to help put her through college, Kathie stopped one semester short of completing her bachelor’s degree.

She met Jack Holdaway at Thiokol Chemical, west of Brigham City, where they were both working on rocketry for the space program. They were married on May 24, 1968, in the Logan Utah Temple. They moved their young family to Orem, eventually building their final home on family land on Holdaway Road in Vineyard, Utah.

When she was a young mother in Orem, she met a group of women in her ward, her “Clique” sisters, and they became lifelong friends. They were like the sisters she never had growing up. These families grew very close, went on yearly camping trips together, and became like an extended family.

She held many jobs throughout her life, including Signetics, tole painting and craft fairs, Freeway Gardens, and the Scera Scoop, where she scooped ice cream and made shakes alongside her clique sisters. Her favorite roles were those of wife, mom, grandma, and great-grandma. Nothing brought her more joy than caring for her family.

Kathie had many gifts and talents, including baking, cake decorating, cooking, canning, gardening, quilting, sewing, crocheting, embroidery, knitting, tole painting, decorating her home, and loving her children, grandchildren, and great-grandbabies. She loved flowers and spent countless summer hours working in her flower beds. She was a prolific reader and was rarely found without her Kindle nearby.

Her hands were always moving, and she always needed to keep busy. Her children knew that if they laid across her lap while she sat in her recliner, her hands would eventually start moving and scratching their backs. Her children would start talking, and it became one of the ways Kathie stayed connected to what was happening in their lives.

She was incredibly proud of her children and grandchildren and loved telling others about them. She told each of her children and grandchildren that they were her favorite, and they all believed her. One Christmas, she gave each of her children a “my favorite child” ornament, with each child initially excited and proud until they realized they had all received the same ornament.

At 5’6”, she was proud of her height, telling her children that she was “tall for her height.” When they teased or questioned her about it, she would insist that she really was tall for her generation.

Kathie loved gathering with her family and hosting monthly family dinners in her home. Every year, she hosted “Pie Day” the day before Thanksgiving, when she and her daughters, daughters-in-law, and granddaughters would make dozens of pies from scratch. Another part of the tradition was waking up to eat pie for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning.

She was a wonderful baker and generously shared pies, cookies, and treats with neighbors and friends. One time, while feeding the missionaries her famous lasagna, she ran out because they loved it so much and could not get enough. The story became a favorite family memory that she never lived down.

Kathie was very proud of her Swedish heritage and loved doing family history work. She spent many hours doing research at BYU using microfiche, working in genealogy centers, searching online record databases, and requesting records directly from Sweden.

Kathie & Jack loved to travel together. Some of their favorite vacations included St. Petersburg, Russia; Sweden; family cruises; and camping trips with family. She and Jack had a Mediterranean cruise scheduled for July that she was especially disappointed to miss, particularly Santorini, Greece. Her family is certain she will still make the journey in spirit.

She had a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. Her children often found her reading and marking in her scriptures and study books.

Jack and Kathie had six children: Daren (Calyn) Holdaway, Daphne (Kenny) Snarr, Alora (Scott) Morgan, Andrea (David) Piercey, Daniel (Heather) Holdaway, and Matthew (Myka) Holdaway. She had 21 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Carl, and her granddaughter Maya Piercey.

A viewing will be held at Walker Sanderson Funeral Home on Friday, June 5, 2026, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. An additional viewing will be held prior to the funeral from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at the LDS church located at 800 S Geneva Road, Orem, Utah. Interment will follow at Eastlawn Memorial Hills Cemetery in Provo, Utah.

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