Maryanne Routten Holloway, age 82, of Hampton, Virginia, passed away peacefully on July 12, 2026, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

Born on July 4, 1944, just before the end of WWII, Maryanne, born Maryanne Routten, was an archetypical Fox Hill girl. She enjoyed the semi-rural version of the town and spent her school years at Francis Asbury Elementary, Buckroe Jr. High and Hampton Sr. High. She would talk about riding her bike down to Grandview Island to play all day on the beach with one of her best friends, spending time in summers at the park in Grandview where big band music would play, running around the stage the next morning and investigating everything left behind by the party goers. She’d talk of being 11 yrs old and taking her seven-year-old cousin on a bus, with several bus line changes, to the theater in Hilton Village just to see an Elvis movie, sometimes they would get a small bit of change from their Granny and run to the local Pharmacy and buy sodas and candy. She told us about the fun they would have at Buckroe amusement park in her teen years, riding the old wooden roller coaster. She sure did like growing up as a Foxhillian in the 1950’s.

She met her husband of 63 years, early in life. A fellow Foxhillian, she and Reggie Holloway knew each other as neighbors since single digit ages. They dated in high school and married on September 5, 1964, when he was still in college at VPI. They spent his senior year together in Blacksburg; as he finished school she found work in the engineering department, typing up thesis and dissertation reports. They went back to FoxHill to settle down eventually landing in Seabreeze Farm in 1980 where she lived the rest of her life.

They had two boys together, Chris and Danny. Maryanne was an excellent mother and wife. Her boys meant the world to her and she made sure they had everything they needed, paying close attention to the things that mattered and giving space for them to grow. She supported their extra circular activities, whether directly engaged as a Den Mother or cheering from the sidelines, watching the plays and music events from the crowd, she was very proud of her boys. Sometimes she had to reign them in and sometimes she had to push them – even filling out college applications – to get them to move. She always kept a watchful eye but was very supportive, sad when they were sad, felt pain when they felt pain and excited when they were excited. At a time when no one had a cell phone and locations couldn’t be tracked, she trusted they would be where they were supposed to be and would come home when they were supposed to come home.

After raising their children and gently pushing them out of the nest, Reggie and Maryanne enjoyed their time together. They weren’t done with life; they loved tailgating at Virginia Tech games both in Blacksburg and on the road. They also enjoyed some adventurous cruises around the islands of the Caribbean with the most ambitious being a three-week stint in Rome and Greece. Maryanne loved history and seeing the remnants of the ancient world was a lifelong dream fulfilled. For 60+ years she almost never left FoxHill and there she was halfway around the world and loving it.

She was a lover of animals, and throughout her life had at least eight cats of her own, a number of grandcats coming over daily to see her, several of those ended up with her permanently. Dogs were in equal company with her; TutiFruti was her first dog, and she taught her to play games, we heard many a story about the fun they had together when she was little. Lassie was also a legend of a dog on Seabreeze Farm, a full collie, she kept the horses in line. Brandy was her last dog and she had that little shelty for 20 yrs, following Maryanne everywhere.

Her sense of humor was wonderful and infectious. She was uniquely good at finding the humor in things, even her own follies; not many people could laugh at themselves the way she could. We all had fun when she was around. Her granddaughters, Kate and Grace, loved their Nana and were often found together laughing uncontrollably. She was a wonderful grandmother, always there for the girls be it picking them up from school early or providing a better offer for dinner.

She loved church and was a faithful Christian, the kind that just believed and didn’t feel the need to question that truth. In her early life she attended FoxHill Central United Methodist Church. Once she and Reggie married, she transferred to Wallace Memorial United Methodist and stayed a member until her passing. She was always engaged in church functions and loved her church families.

She leaves behind her husband of 62 years, Reginald Holloway; and their two sons Chris and Danny, and their two spouses Brad and Shonia; and two granddaughters Grace and Kate, her sister Gayle, as well as many friends and extended family.

A wake will be held from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on July 17, 2026 at R. Hayden Smith Funeral Home on 245 South Armistead Avenue in Hampton, VA and a memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on July 18, 2026, at Wallace Memorial United Methodist Church on 6 Johnson Road, Hampton, VA with graveside service and reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers donations can be sent to the Peninsula SPCA to honor her love of animals at 523 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News, VA 23601.