Marie K. Holecek

Holecek, Marie K., 101, died Sept. 29 at Bon Secours Assisted Living. Born in Bay City, MI, Nov. 3, 1906, she was the widow of Frank Holecek, MD. The Holecek family came to St. Petersburg from Johnson City, TN, in 1940 and lived in Gulfport for more than 40 years. Mrs. Holecek was a woman ahead of her time. A brilliant student, she received a Bachelor's Degree from Barnard College in 1927 and a Master's Degree from Columbia University the same year. Her outstanding scholarship was recognized through an American Exchange Fellowship to Charles University in Prague, Czechoslovakia. There she received her PhD in History, the youngest, at age 22, to have achieved this degree. Prior to her marriage to Dr. Holecek in 1935, she taught at several colleges including Texas Women's University in Denton, TX, and the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN. In St. Petersburg, she managed Dr. Holecek's medical practice, taught for a time at St. Petersburg Junior College, and raised two children who survive her: John F. Holecek Jill of St. Petersburg and Mary Holecek Jordan H. Baker, Jr. of Tampa. During her life Mrs. Holecek wrote extensively and published a number of articles as well as translations from the original Czech of several books, including Nikola the Outlaw by Ivan Olbracht, published by Northwestern University Press, and Old Czech Legends by Alois Jurasek, published for UNESCO by Forest Books of London. Not only was Mrs. Holecek an accomplished writer, but she was also an avid reader of a broad range of publications in her native English and Czech. She remained a student of international affairs her entire life and was particularly interested in the culture of Czechoslovakia where her ancestors were artists, musicians, and writers. She was a longtime friend of Dr. Alice Masaryk, whose father, Tomas, was the first President of Czechoslovakia. Mrs. Holecek's interests and hobbies were extensive. She was an ardent collector, particularly of minerals and Native American artifacts. She and Dr. Holecek spent many vacations searching for mineral specimens in locations around the United States and Canada. They amassed and meticulously catalogued an impressive collection over several decades. Mrs. Holecek was a member of the academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa. She joined the American Association of University Women in the 1930s and later served as president of its St. Petersburg Branch and vice-president of its Florida Division. She was a board member and vice-president of the Pinellas County Lung and Tuberculosis Association, now the Gulf Coast Lung Association. Mrs. Holecek also served as a member of the board of the Gulfport Friends of the Library and was a member of both the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences and the Florida branch of the Friends of Mineralogy. In addition to her son and daughter, she is survived by six grandchildren-- John M. Holecek, Sr. Tammy; Tracy Di Vito Allyn; Russell Holecek Blythe, all of St. Petersburg; Harry B. Jordan, III Maybelle of Delray Beach; Suzannah Holway Jamie of Neptune Beach; and Mary Frances Jordan of Tampa-- and nine great-grandchildren. The family would like to thank the staff of Bon Secours, especially Anita Young and Johnene Marble, for their superb care and kindness to Mrs. Holecek during her time there, and to the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast for its attendance during her final days. Funeral services for Mrs. Holecek will be held at Anderson-McQueen NE St. Petersburg Funeral Center, 2201 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. at 1 p.m. October 11. A reception will follow at the center. The family requests no flowers. Memorial donations may be made to Pastoral Care at Bon Secours, 10401 Roosevelt Blvd., St. Petersburg, 33716, Attn: Sister Dolores O'Brien. Anderson McQueen Funeral Homes NE St. Petersburg Chapel 727 822-2059