Wilma J. Holley of North Port, Florida, passed away Feb. 16 at the age of 69 from Amyotrophic lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
Wilma was born August 12, 1955 in Delhi. Wilma was predeceased by her parents, Norton and Alta Holley.
Wilma graduated from Delaware Academy & Central School in 1973 and went on to graduate from SUNY at Cobleskill in 1975 with an associate’s degree in plant nursery operations and management.
She moved to Florida shortly after graduation. She worked at different jobs over the years. One of her favorite and most fulfilling was at Blanton Elementary School in St. Petersburg, Florida. While on staff at Blanton Elementary, she developed a program called Holley Rangers. She helped students learn about the outdoors, including plants, wildlife, and insects. The program was a big hit. The students couldn’t wait to go to her classroom which looked like you were outdoors. After that, she worked at the extension service for Pinellas County for several years then from October 2011 to January 2022, she was a Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program Specialist at UF/IFAS Sarasota County Extension. She retired December 30, 2022. As part of her job and after retirement, she was involved with the Sarasota County Master Gardeners Program. She loved photography and gardening.
Survivors include her brother, Norton Holley Jr. and wife Bonnie, sister Mona Sutherland and husband, John, sister Carol Garone and husband Frank, niece Jennifer Miller, nephew Nick Sutherland and wife Kylie and their daughter Olivia.
A graveside service to celebrate Wilma’s life will be held Friday, May 23, at 1 p.m. at the Hamden Cemetery, 176 Cemetery Road Hamden.
