Barbara Lindholtz

Barbara L. Lindholtz died Tuesday evening, July 7, one month and two days before her eighty-fifth birthday. She was born at home on August 9, 1924 to Ethan and Adele Wilson, just a block off San Fernando Road in Los Angeles. She graduated from Eagle Rock High School in February, 1942. She was active in the Girls Athletic Association in high school, and also active in the young peoples ministry of Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church. Following high school, she had a number of jobs, including working as a riveter at Lockheed Aircraft Company. On September 9, 1944, she was married to Richard J. Lindholtz, and it was one wartime romance that lasted almost 65 years. While Dick was overseas, Barb worked for Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company, and for Pacific Scientific Company. She continued working after World War II, while Dick was pursuing his optometric education. Their lives were enriched by three children, Tom, born in 1947; Karin, born in 1951, and Rick, born in 1956. After completing his education, the family moved to Davis in January, 1952, to open the first professional vision care office in Davis, where the newly-minted Dr. Lindholtz practiced for the next thirty-six plus years, retiring in October, 1988. During most of this period, Barbara devoted herself to providing a home for the children, occasionally working part time at the University of California, and filling in at the office. All three children achieved graduate-level degrees as a result of her encouragement during their growing years. Always an enthusiastic Christian, Barb devoted many hours to encouraging young women, both American and international, in their faith and she was regarded as a role model by many who sought her wise counsel. Along with four other couples, Barb and Dick were involved in founding the University Covenant Church. Because their own marriage was a strong one, in 1974, the then pastor of the church, Rev. Ron Lagerstrom, asked them to take over the premarital counseling ministry at the church. They did this for almost twenty years, sharing their lives with some 125 couples. In January, 1989, for this community service (among many others), Dick and Barb were jointly chosen to receive the C. A. Covell, Citizen-of-the-Year award. In 1987 and again in 1989, under the sponsorship of Rotary International, the couple went to Fiji, where they participated in a medical-dental-eye clinic, Barb functioning as a dispensing optician. Hers was a life devoted to others, and it was well-lived. In addition to her husband and her children, she is survived by two brothers, both retired from the Los Angeles Fire Department; Keith Wilson and his wife Carolyn, of Arlington, WA; Keneth Wilson and his wife, Yvonne, of Salem, OR; and several nieces and nephews. A memorial service is planned at University Covenant Church, with the date and time to be announced later.

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