Dora Mae Holen

Obituary For Dora Mae Holen

Dora Mae Holen, of Hillsboro, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. Dora Mae lived in Hillsboro since 1992, and was the widow of George Cooper of Hillsboro, who passed in 2008. Dora was born and raised in Montana near Flathead Lake. Her mother’s family homesteaded in Pleasant Valley, Montana, in 1888. Her father, also a Montana homesteader, was born in Augusta, Montana. His homestead was near Camas Prairie where the family operated an award-winning dairy farm.

Dora Mae graduated Valedictorian from Hotsprings High School, and later married George Cooper. The two met on a train, as George was heading off to the Navy. The marriage did not work out, and was annulled in Nome, Alaska in 1947. Dora Mae went on to earn a Secretarial Certificate in Enid, Oklahoma. She worked at the Homestake Mine in Wallace, Idaho, where she met Harlen Holen, a geologist. They married and raised three daughters while enjoying the fishing and camping lifestyle around New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.

Dora Mae was very artistically talented, and she dedicated herself to becoming a fine artist in oil painting. She studied the subject deeply. She sold many paintings over the years that are treasured objects in homes far and wide. Dora Mae also belonged to the New Mexico Mountain Club and spent many years hiking and backpacking with them. She also enjoyed many, many long horseback rides with friends over the years, near Grants, New Mexico, and later near Placitas, New Mexico.

Dora and Harlen divorced in 1988. Dora later reunited with her first husband, George. The two settled in Hillsboro in 1992. George and Dora Mae enjoyed many years together, where they worked on renovating their old adobe, and where Dora created a garden of native plants and wildflowers, as well as continuing with her painting.

Dora is survived by her two brothers: Victor of Columbia Falls, Montana, and Marshall, of Hamilton Montana; three children: Betsy Arehart, Anne Marie Holen, and Susan Roebuck; and by her grandson, Rawley Roebuck.

Cremation has taken place and no services will be held at this time

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