Elsie Elizabeth Holtslander

May 30, 1921 — November 26, 2021

Elsie Elizabeth Sirisky Holtslander lived 100 years, five months, and twenty-six days. She began her life loved and ended her life loved.

Elsie was born Monday, May 30, 1921, in Charleston, SC. She died Friday, November 26, 2021, in Charleston.

Elsie was the sixth and last child of her parents John Joseph and Jennie Eugenia Bertocci Sirisky.

In addition to her parents preceding her in death, so did her siblings: Lawrence Matthew Sirisky, Stella Mary Sirisky Buero, Constance Sirisky Kitchener Staubes, John Gustavis Sirisky, Charles Alfred Sirisky, as well as longtime friend Virginia Bennett.

As a child, Elsie loved the movies. To raise the funds necessary to finance her moviegoing adventures during the Great Depression, Elsie and her equally eager best friend took to busking in the City Market. It was in the Market that her friend’s grandmother sold vegetables. One child would improvise a dance while the other child stood on a chair and sang. The children’s favorite movie by far was The Coconuts and they stayed watching it over and over until a worried relative came and dragged the girls out. Elsie never lost her love of the movies, and in her final years she tuned in regularly to the Turner Classic Movies Channel.

Her love of reading began in her early teens, with hand-me-down novels from a sister-in-law. When her eyesight weakened, Elsie persisted using a magnifying glass to move line by line across the printed page. Finally, the reading ended when Elsie’s sight gave out completely in her late nineties.

Elsie married Ernest Diedrich Holtslander on July 4, 1937. She was barely sixteen, but the marriage lasted until Ernie died fifty-nine years later.

Ernie and Elsie had one son, Ernest Joseph Holtslander, who preceded his mother in death. That son gifted her six surviving grandchildren and one who passed too soon.

Encouraged by a girlfriend, Elsie took up bowling at the Knights of Columbus in the late 1950s. Elsie continued to bowl two times a week with the same ever dwindling group of friends until she was ninety. It wasn’t her age that stopped her but by then, there were not enough ladies left who could still drive. Twice during her bowling career, Elsie got the Big Split and her bowling average reached 140.

Elsie loved to travel, to see live performances of all genres, to dine at famous restaurants and perhaps to spot a celebrity in the process. New York City and Las Vegas were favorites for that very reason.

She enjoyed dancing, singing, and laughing till she cried. She loved a good joke especially if her sister Stella played it on her.

As a girl, Elsie worked in the hosiery department of Kress and the children’s department of Mangles. As an adult, Elsie taught kindergarten at Blessed Sacrament and Sacred Heart Catholic Schools for nearly a quarter century.

Elsie lived in her own home until she was in her late 90’s. Finally, her failing eyesight and a few falls were the catalyst for Elsie to accept the family’s suggestion to move to Carter May Assisted Living Home in Charleston.

Her family gathered with her for a large birthday party when she turned 100. Pope Francis sent her a Papal Blessing and the President of the United States sent a congratulatory letter.

In the span of nearly a year, Elsie transitioned from Carter May to nursing care at NHC of Charleston, where she passed. The family are grateful for and would like to thank the staff of both Carter May and NHC for their loving care of dear Elsie.

The surviving relatives include: Elaine Malony, Emmett Padgett, Jacqueline Lear, Michael Joseph Buero, George Francis Buero, Elsie Annette Gill and Dorothy B. Holtslander, grand-nieces and nephews and her beloved six grandchildren.

Her Mass of Christian Burial will be Celebrated 10:30 AM on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1695 Raoul Wallenberg Drive, Charleston. The Rite of Committal will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. The family will receive friends between 5:00 and 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at the James A. McAlister Funeral Home, 1620 Savannah Highway.