Amherst, Doris Reynolds Holden passed away peacefully on January 24, 2018. 

She was born in Ludlow, Massachusetts, June 1, 1922, the daughter of Thomas Harold and Georgia (Gates) Reynolds.

A graduate of Turners Falls High School (1939) and of Northampton Commercial College (1941), she received her B.G.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1975 and 1980, respectively.

In 1952, Doris married Cecil R. Holden, who died in 1980.  A brother, Thomas Gates Reynolds, and a long-time friend, Howard D. Barnes, predeceased her. 

She leaves a niece, Terry Ann Linley, a grand-niece, Erin Fryauff, and a grand-nephew, Brian Linley, all from Florida; several cousins; a friend and caregiver, Nancy Nash, several other care-givers, and many friends.

Doris was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for twenty-eight years (1941 – 1969) and then the University of Massachusetts/Amherst until her retirement in 1984.

She was a sixty-year member of Edwards Church, Northampton, the senior Past Matron of Unity Chapter No. 66, Order of the Eastern Star, Amherst, and a member of several local organizations.

After her retirement, Doris enjoyed volunteering in the coffee shop at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, as a docent at the Renaissance Center at UMass/Amherst, and at the Hospice Shop for the Fisher Home.  She worked with Janet Dakin for the Friends of Amherst Stray Animals and continued with the Dakin Humane Society.  Doris served as treasurer for Edwards Church for many years as well as for the Friends of the Amherst Senior Center.  She was recognized several times for volunteering and was a Volunteer Emerita of the Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

As she wished, the funeral will be private with no calling hours.  A memorial service will be held at Edwards Church in late May.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society, 171 Union St., Springfield, MA 01105, or the charity of your choice.