Melinda Hope Holland passed away in a San Francisco on February 25, 2017 as a result of several illnesses.
She was born to Hope and Milton Peterson in Madera, California. She lived on that farm with her family for about ten years. She and her brother, Eric, then lived with their mother and maternal grandparents, Gladys and Percy Valentine, in Berkeley. Melinda accompanied her grandfather on the Key System Train from nearby Shattuck Avenue to the San Francisco State University campus where Dr. Valentine was Dean of Education. Later, Melinda and Eric moved to Southern California where they all lived with their mother and new stepfather, Cary Odell.
Melinda attended the University of California at Los Angeles. She graduated with honors in anthropology and Spanish. After graduating, she married Raymond Holland. They were among the earliest Peace Corps Volunteers, teaching at universities in Venezuela and working in community development activities.
Subsequently, Melinda and Ray lived in Washington, D.C. during the tumultuous period of 1967-68. They returned to California in late-1968 and bought a house in San Francisco’s Richmond District in which they still lived upon her death.
Melinda obtained her masters degree and ESL teaching credential at SFSU. She taught in a variety of San Francisco Unified District’s elementary and high schools, was a legal secretary at two law firms and worked at the Child Abuse Prevention Center.
Melinda was the epitome of the loving and caring wife, mother and grandmother. Her oldest son, Brooks, lives in Spokane, Washington, with his wife, Monica, and their two daughters, Karenna and Eva. Her youngest son, Miles, lives in Portland, Oregon, with Belinda and their two-year-old daughter, Annika. Melinda always wished she was two persons, one of whom could live in each city to be near both sons and families continuously.
Melinda maintained close friendships in many different San Francisco neighborhoods, the Greater Bay Area, the nation and worldwide. Everyone will miss her keen intellect, effusive sense of humor and her sincerity.
A memorial service may be held at some yet-undetermined future date for all members of her family and, if possible, her friends. In the meantime, she and her family request that donations be made to the not-for-profit organizations of your choice.
— San Francisco Chronicle. Mar. 12, 2017.