Florence Christensen Holtshouser
December 7, 1923 - July 3, 2026
Florence Christensen Holtshouser, 102, of Salt Lake City passed away peacefully in her sleep at home on July 3, 2026. Born on December 7, 1923, in Providence, Utah, Florence was the oldest of nine children and grew up on a small family farm. After graduation from South Cache High School in 1942, she took a job as a switchboard operator. 
She married Herbert Wendell Holtshouser on Feb 22, 1944, at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Logan. Together they lived in many places, including the San Francisco Bay Area, where she gave birth to Barbara Ann; and Chicago, Illinois, where they welcomed Wayne and Ruth. They settled in Salt Lake in 1948, where they added Richard, Jean and Joe to the family.
Florence joined the parish at Our Lady of Lourdes, sang in the choir, and took both paid and volunteer roles at the school where her children attended. She was honored to be recognized as Woman of the Year at Our Lady of Lourdes. Florence worked at Judge Memorial Catholic High School for more than 40 years, from 1970-2011. Florence served the poor faithfully for more than 60 years at the St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall. In 2012, she was honored with Utah’s Unsung Hero Award for her humanitarian work. In 2014, Florence was inducted into the Utah Softball Hall of Fame, along with six of her brothers. 
She is survived by her children Ruth (Clarence) Kimmett of Aurora, Colorado; Richard (Celeste) Holtshouser, of Riverton, Utah; Jean VanDongen (Walt Corbin) of Oak Harbor, Washington; and Joseph (Gloria) Holtshouser of Aurora, Colorado. She leaves behind grandchildren Charles and Chris Holtshouser, Kara (Curtis) Urban, Sara (Kalob) Dyer, Jessica (Stephen) Mandala, Paul (Amanda) Roberson, Rebecca (Chris) Thompson, Judy (Ryan) Householder, Justin (Becky) VanDongen, Krista (Coral) VanDongen, Brian (Allie) Holtshouser. She is survived by siblings Ivan Christensen, Kathryn Widman and Ralph Christensen, and many, many nieces and nephews. She leaves behind 24 beloved great-grandchildren: Savannah Hudson, Connor, Jacob and Spencer Holtshouser; Austin and Miranda Holtshouser; Bella and Freya Dyer; Grayson and Lily Urban; Stella and Roman Mandala; Kaia and Arya Roberson; Gabriel and William Thompson; Jax, Ryker and Miles Householder; Jocelyn Kennedy; Wren VanDongen; Katje VanDongen; and Hannah and Hunter Holtshouser.
She is reunited in heaven with her husband Herbert Wendell Holtshouser; daughter Sr. Ruth (Barbara Ann) Holtshouser; son Wayne Holtshouser; parents Rachel (Schiess) and Arnold Christensen; siblings Arnie, Dave, Owen, Wesley and Lynn Christensen; and granddaughter Ann Marie Holtshouser.
A Celebration of Life will be held on August 15, 2026, 3-6 p.m. at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 South 900 East, Salt Lake City.