How I Met Sheila It was December 1955 when Howard, my fraternity brother, invited me to join him and his newest girl, Sheila, to attend a Christmas program at Annandale High School. Sheila was a senior at Annandale and Howard’s mother taught there. (I learned later that Sheila was dating Howard because Howard’s mother thought she would be go...
Sheila's Life Sheila Moore Holsinger, age 80, passed away on January 3, 2020, as she wished, at her home in Charlottesville with her loving family and her dog, Chief. She is survived by her much-loved husband of 62 years, Harry Holsinger, and her four children, Anna Jullien of Aldie, Va., Eric of Virginia Beach, Va., Carol of Knoxville, Tenn....
Sometimes a gift is inadvertently delivered. A single conversation can influence another person’s thinking and in turn impact the important decisions they make for the better. And that is a true gift. In our case it was a conversation with Sheila that opened our eyes to a better early childhood education path for our kids to follow. Our conversatio...
Anna Jullien I remember the summer Mama took her biology classes at George Mason. She had the class and the lab, so it was a lot of time each week. I was eleven or twelve, and was responsible for Bruce while she was at class. She loved it - she'd come home and tell us what she was learning. One day she brought home a sheep's eye she had dissected in class. And I remember her graduation day. Such an achievement for her!
Mrs. Holsinger was my PK/K teacher and had a lifelong impact on me. She was there with Harry when I got married, at my baby shower; she sent me a copy of her book on raising boys when I had my son and a copy of Abadaba when I had my girl. Her influence is peppered all over my life. I am so grateful to her family for sharing her with me. I dreamed ...
I first met Sheila at a writers' group I started in Leesburg, VA in 1986. She was kind, generous and friendly, and contributed a great deal to the group as a writer, editor, and friend. We continued that group for 5 years until I moved north to NJ. Sheila and I continued corresponding throughout the years, sharing news of family, friends, and writi...
Anna Jullien Emily reading to Sheila, Thanksgiving 2019.
From Anna Brickhouse (pt. 1) When I first met Sheila twenty-five years ago, she was a whirlwind of activity: gardening, making soup with her home-grown vegetables, cooking meal after meal during family visits, only sitting down and putting her feet up for a quick break to read The Nation or a science magazine. Having a mother-in-law who had it hard...
From Anna Brickhouse (part 2) But she always forgave me and always showed interest in me as a person and not just an extra semi-member in a large family; she always made me feel loved even when I was acting less than loveable. Her loyalty and kindness were endless. She never gave up on anyone, and I knew she’d stand by me no matter what happened or...
From Anna Brickhouse (part 3) As an older woman, she beat back Guillain-Barre syndrome against all odds; she went from a ventilator and full paralysis of everything but one lone eyebrow to months of rehab and learning slowly how to move, walk, and talk again, to full recovery and cooking in her own kitchen for her visiting family as if nothing had ...
I am a shirt-tail relative, as my father would say, being the mother-in-law of Sheila's grandson, Ben. However, Sheila lovingly welcomed me into the family and we shared a passion for nurturing young children as I was a Kindergarten teacher. Sheila and I talked phonics, alphabet activities, and early childhood development. She shared Montessori ...
Harry Holsinger Sheila's Slide Show
Our family met Sheila in 1979 when we moved to Leesburg, VA and enrolled our five-year old son Bob in Sheila’s Montessori School located at St. James’ Episcopal Church in Leesburg. Bob loved his teacher and was very keen about school. When he was kindergarten age Sheila asked if she could keep Bob, along with several same aged boys, after class fo...
Sheila’s memory page successfully captures in pictures and music the many facets of Sheila — and there were many. What a remarkable woman she was — so talented and passionate. I am lucky to have known her, as she was such a caring and smart friend, whose advice I was always happy to receive, and whose sense of humor was always right on. I remember ...
I remember going antique shopping with grandma when I would come visit. She would always let me buy one or two things, even if she knew what I wanted was junk! It was fun to spend time with her out and about at different antique stores, each store filled with a completely different set of things. Lots of fun!! I still have a lar ge piece of furnitu...
Laure Bell My memories of Aunt Sheila take me back as far as visiting her at the house in Annandale. I remember how she would let me go downstairs to her Montessori schoolroom and “play” with the learning centers. I remember sitting outside in the backyard listening to her and my mother talk about their childhood and relatives. My favorite visits were to the Holsinger’s house in Leesburg when I was in 6th and 7th grade and living in Springfield. There were quite a few weekends during the two years we lived there that she would have me come and stay from Friday until Sunday. I cherish memories of a Baked Alaska birthday dessert and her helping me sew a skirt from start to finish. She always made my visits special. There were family games, homemade cookies, community events, never a dull moment at the Holsinger house. Her home in Leesburg was one of my very favorite places in the world. Aunt Sheila had a unique talent for drawing a person out and learning what they were passionate about. She would then encourage and support those interests and talents. It always made people feel special. She always encouraged my art, my parenting, anything I showed an interest in. One of the things I loved most about Aunt Sheila was her love and passion for the education and development of young children. From teaching Montessori school to writing books for and about children, Aunt Sheila always had a heart for young children. When I began working at the Family & Children Research Unit at Mississippi State University eight years ago, Aunt Sheila would ask me questions about my work every time I talked to her. She would mail me articles and research she found on early learning best practices, and once, a whole classroom set of her Abadaba Alphabet book. She took a keen interest in the well-being of the children in Mississippi, and I loved talking to her about it. I am filled with so many emotions when I think of my Aunt Sheila. There is such happiness from the wonderful memories that I have of time spent with her, there is gratefulness that I had her for an aunt, and there is sorrow that I won’t be able to see her again in this lifetime. The bond my mother had with her sister, the love Aunt Sheila showed to me, my brother, and eventually even our children will always be dear to my heart and memory. We are blessed to have known her and to have been loved by her. Laure Ellen Blount Bell
My sister Ellen and Sheila were best friends every summer when Sheila would come to Waterford. Sheila had a little playhouse in her yard. My sister had to babysit me and take me with her all the time, I was probably about three or four years old, they were 12 or 13. So I don't know if it was my sister's idea or Sheila's to lock me in the little pla...
Shelia and I met while working together at Magnavox Electronic Systems Company in Ashburn, Virginia. I believe the year was 1985. We very quickly became close friends and built many beautiful memories. I believe in angels. I believe that God blesses us with his presence in the form of earthly angles and there is no doubt in my mind, that Shelia was...
I first met Sheila when our son Ned attended her Montessori preschool; she was kind enough to suggest an after-school care situation so that I could extend my writing time. Ned thrived: no one understood or respected young children the way Sheila did! And before we knew it, she had our whole family involved: Ed on her board and me helping her wri...
I put today's date because I cannot remember the dates that my memories with Sheila began, somewhere in the sixties. Sheila was always welcoming and kind to me when I needed that the most. I was a teenager with a lot of issues and always felt comfortable and able to talk to Sheila. No matter when I called, she always told me to come over. I loved h...
Amy Joyce “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” -Henry Brooks Adams Mrs. Holsinger (“Mrs. H” in our correspondence) was my very first teacher and it was to my delight that we fostered a lifelong friendship as well. I absolutely adored her and looked up to her immensely. From the moment I entered her Montessori classroom alongside my brother, I had a true guide in my life who was rooting for me the entire way. The impact she had by simply believing in me, is simply immeasurable. Everyone needs the kind of teacher that Mrs. H was in their corner. What a better world we would have if that could be the case! I have so many fond memories of her and her family. Some of my favorites are washing tables in her classroom, Mrs. H interviewing my friends and I for her latest research, sending writing and papers to her for input and edits, phone chats, her encouragement to pursue my own Montessori training, attending my wedding, showers, and baptisms--even her input on baby names! Mrs. H was always part of our Leesburg family. Her smile and laughter came easily, and her advice was always treasured. I am so blessed to have known her! *Pics from 2004
My mother-in-law and father-in-law, Betsy and Bob Brickhouse, asked me to add these memories to the site. ** At Bruce and Annie’s wedding reception, Sheila let me - somewhat of a stranger at that point - take her by the hand and lead her off to meet a guest. A small thing, but it touched me. I thought of that when I took her hand for the last ti...
Family and friends
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