Gov. Bob Holden's mother, Wanda Holden, dies at age 77

BIRCH TREE, Mo. -- Wanda Mae Holden, the mother of Missouri Gov. Bob Holden, died Thursday at her home after a long illness, the governor's office said. She was 77.

Holden, a Kansas City native, moved to Birch Tree after marrying Robert Lee Holden in 1948 and was a homemaker who helped manage their Shannon County farm.

"She was a person who never met a stranger, never shied away from a challenge, lived her life with great spirit and energy, and worked hard to help her children have an education and the confidence needed to go out into the world," Gov. Holden said in a statement Thursday.

Holden is survived by her husband; three sons, Bob Holden, of Jefferson City, Circuit Judge Calvin Ray Holden, of Springfield, and attorney Steven Ernest Holden, of Tulsa, Okla.; daughter Cynthia Holden Hartman, an educator in Carrollton; nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Holden farm with burial to follow at Corinth Cemetery. Visitation is scheduled for 5-9 p.m. Friday at Duncan Funeral Home in Mountain View.

The family suggests memorials be made to the Wanda Holden Scholarship Fund through the West Plains Bank of Mountain View or to a local hospice association. The scholarship fund is to be used to help a girl from the Mountain View-Birch Tree School District area attend college.