Distinguished Abilene woman; Sylvia Holcomb-Woodall leaves pieces of her heart throughout community as loved ones say goodbye
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Many Abilenians said goodbye to a light in the community last week after Sylvia Holcomb-Woodall passed away in March due to surgical complications. Loved ones remember her giant impact on the community and the lives she’s touched just by being herself, and as she leaves behind pieces of her heart for others to find.
Sylvia Holcomb-Woodall obituary
Holcomb-Woodall served the community in many ways including by way of being on the boards of Abilene Downtown Association, Chamber of Commerce, Frontier Texas, and Keep Abilene Beautiful.
Holcomb-Woodall’s daughter, Hailey Holcomb, said throughout her mother’s work, she never met a stranger.
“There was always people that knew her, man, and that she knew very well. She knew about what their kids were doing, and stuff like that,” Holcomb said. “So, it wasn’t even so much on like a just a business level, but even on a personal level. Like, she cared to ask those questions, and like, be involved in their personal life and their children’s lives and what their kids had going on.”
Holcomb-Woodall’s close friend, Maxanne Little, said in her absence, she will always remember her contagious optimism.
“No matter what was going on in her life, she always had a really big smile on her face. She just- she was just one of those people that always seemed to put everyone else in front of her,” shared Little.
Many could spot Holcomb-Woodall’s face while out and about for her work in the community. Most recently, Austin Connors said she continued to spread her light at the Abilene Convention Center.
“She had a number of different passions, and it came out in everything she did. It came out for her passion, for live entertainment, for theater,” Connors, manager over the convention center, listed. “She truly lived and breathed everything that is Abilene downtown; the culture, the growth, and what we exhibit here.”
Holcomb-Woodall has left her mark on the Big Country in both a physical and spiritual sense. She was also known to drop a piece of her heart throughout town- a quilted version of it, anyway. Holcomb said it was a symbolic gesture of everything for which her mom held high.
“She would make them, and they have a little tag that says, ‘I need a home,'” added Holcomb. “The idea behind it is that whoever is supposed to find it is going to find it, and it will bring them a little joy and just let them know like, ‘hey, whatever you’re going through, like, you’re going to be okay.'”
Sylvia Holcomb-Woodall’s funeral services were performed by Hamil Family Funeral Home on April 4 and 5, and she was laid to rest at Elmwood Memorial Park.
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