Betty Sue Embery Holman, 86, recently of Crimora, Virginia, wife of the late James Martin

Holman, Sr., died Wednesday, February 24, 2021 in Fishersville, Virginia.

Born June 12, 1934 in Brownie, a coal camp in Muhlenberg County that later became part of Central City,

Kentucky, to the late Zirkle C. and Ruby Evelyn Waddle Embery, she was a member of the

Russellville Kentucky United Methodist Temple.

Betty graduated from Central City (Kentucky) High School in 1952. As young women, she,

with her black hair, and her sister, Jane, who was blond, turned many heads working as

models for the local JC Penney store. In 1953 she met James Holman of Russellville,

Kentucky, while he was on leave from the U. S. Navy, and they were married the next year

in National City, California.

Long-time residents of Harrison and Crawford Counties in southern Indiana, Betty and Jim

Holman operated the Horseshoe Bend Marina and Campground in Leavenworth for a

number of years. Known for her passion for cooking, Mrs. Holman was the manager of a

supermarket deli and bakery, before later opening Betty's Catering in conjunction with her

husband's restaurant, Jimbo's Barbecue, in Corydon, Indiana. Throughout her life Betty was

known as beautiful and spunky and always having something to say.

Betty is survived by two sons, James Martin Holman, Jr. of Tokushima, Japan and Jeffrey

Mason Holman of Drummond, Montana; one daughter, Susan Beth Holman Smith of

Crimora, Virginia; five grandchildren, Katherine Beth Holman Samuel of Richmond,

Kentucky, Ethan James Holman of Manchester, New Hampshire, Amanda Dawn Holman

Parks of Cody, Wyoming, Jordan Martin Holman of Columbia, Missouri, and Aaron

Nathaniel Smith of Crimora, Virginia. She is also survived by seven great-grandchildren,

Stephan, David, and Sophie Samuel; Evelyn Holman; and Aiden, Alex, and Charlotte Parks;

and one sister, Patti Jo Embery Wilson, of Owensboro, Kentucky. She was preceded in

death by her sister, Jane Carolyn Embery Wolfe.

No funeral will be conducted, but a memorial service will be scheduled for a later date when

conditions allow for a gathering of friends and family. Burial will be in Maple Grove

Cemetery in Russellville, Kentucky. Given Betty's life-long concern with feeding as many

people as possible and the pleasure she and her husband took as recipients of Meals on

Wheels, donations for local food banks and meal programs that serve the elderly are

requested in lieu of flowers.