Patricia (Keel) Holk of Heber Springs, Arkansas, departed this life on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at the age of 88. She was born June 18, 1935, in Jackson County, Arkansas, the daughter of John Peyton and Gladys (Spencer) Keel.
Mrs. Holk was a member of Newport High School’s Class of 1951. After completing her high school education, she attended LSU and obtained a Bachelor of Education Degree. Initially, Mrs. Holk taught at elementary schools in Miami and Little Rock. Later, she ran two veterinary clinics alongside her husband for over two decades.
Mrs. Holk had a keen interest in gardening and enjoyed watching birds that visited her backyard. She loved spending time at her lake house, fishing and being outdoors. Her love for dogs and cats was well-known as she had taken in many strays over the years.
Mrs. Holk was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Fred Holk; two sisters, Joan Keel Brown and Gertrude “Trudy” Keel; and her parents.
She is survived by her son, Douglas Bland and wife, Elizabeth of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania; one daughter, Cynthia Bland Fields of Heber Springs; her step-daughter, Susanna Holk of Jonesboro; two grandchildren, Davis Keel Bland and Stuart Holk Bland, both of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania; three step-grandsons, Jonathan Burgin, Bryan Neal, and Jacob Neal; two brothers, John E. Keel and wife, Aletha “Sam” of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Franklin Wright Keel and wife, Linda S. of Goodyear, Arizona; one sister, Mary Katherine Henry of Heber Springs; several nieces and nephews; and a special family friend, Anna Jackson of Heber Springs.
No services are planned at this time.
