Kathryn “Katie” Holldber, 68, passed away too soon on Sunday, July 18 in Pine Cove, California. She was born on May 18, 1953 in Long Beach, California to her parents Alvin and Joanne McConville. Katie was the second of four children.
After high school, Katie married George Jones and moved to Hawaii with their infant daughter Jennifer. When they divorced, Katie and Jennifer returned to Long Beach.
In 1980, Katie came to Idyllwild on a weekend trip with her sister Anni and fell in love, both with the mountains and her future husband Jerry Holldber. They were married until 2018.
In 1989, Katie began working for the U.S. Forest Service, where she thrived for 31 years, making lifelong friends and experiencing treasured moments, some tragic, in and off the field with her “crew.” She retired from the Forest Service in June 2020.
Katie loved her home where she enjoyed gardening, tending to her fruit trees and cultivating her indoor plants. She loved traveling to see her grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins. In her spare time, Katie crocheted baby blankets for friends, fed the birds, road tripped the west coast and spent winter weekends in her beloved Anza-Borrego desert.
Katie will be greatly missed by her friends and family. She was preceded in death by her father Alvin McConville. Katie is survived by her daughter Jennifer Jones (Mark Swartz), her mother Joanne Cone, sisters Anni McConville-Zilz (Lenny Zilz) and Lucy McConville, brother Tim McConville, her two grandchildren Emma and Nico Swartz and her nieces and nephews Zoe and Zac Zilz, Leah Lehmeier, and Alex Hogan.

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