Sophie Holbrook, 1921-2014

SOUTHPORT, N.C. — Sophie Relich Holbrook, 93, of Carillon Assisted Living, in Southport, passed away Monday, Nov. 17, 2014.

She was born Sept. 27, 1921, in Akron, Ohio, the daughter of Zika and Lenka Relich, Serbian immigrants. Sophie’s devoted husband, Bill, survives. They met in high school and enjoyed 72 years of marriage.
She is survived by four daughters, Karen Holbrook and her husband, Richard Trask, of Saint James, Billie Holbrook, of Tucson, Ariz., Debbi McCullough and her husband, Ed, of Tucson, and Lisa Lofthouse and her husband, Dean, of Fayetteville. She had five grandchildren, William Guthrie and his wife, Amber, of Frostburg, Emily Guthrie, of Wilmington, Del., Rebecca Pendleton and her husband, Francisco Ramirez, of Bogota, Columbia, Jeff Pendleton and his wife, Barbara, of Tucson, and Peter Holbrook, of Tucson. She had five great-grandchildren, Arlyss and Ezekiel Guthrie, of Frostburg, Aaliyah and Anders Pendleton, of Tucson, and Sophie Pendleton-Ramirez, of Bogota. Her extended family also included many dear nieces and nephews who truly mourn her loss.

She was a devoted wife and mother and quite proud of her husband’s and family’s achievements. She was much more modest when talking about her own accomplishments. When Bill enlisted in the Army Air Corp., in 1942, Sophie followed him from Akron to Pensalcola Beach, Fla., where he trained as pilot and then to California where he left to serve in the South Pacific. Later, when Bill took up the sport of competitive soaring, Sophie and her daughters became his crew, following his flight on the ground towing a long glider trailer behind their station wagon to retrieve Bill and his plane when he landed in farmer’s fields or far-off airstrips. Sophie eventually learned to fly and soloed at the age of 60.

Throughout her life Sophie lived in Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Arizona, as well as, North Carolina. She loved color and design. Wherever she lived, she planted a flower garden that thrived under care. She also loved to crochet and specialized in crocheting items made from yarn cut from various colors of plastic shopping bags which she gave away to family and friends. Sophie was active in many community and church organizations. She was president of the Allegany County Maryland Historical Society and the founder of the Cumberland branch of American Field Service. She and her husband, Bill, hosted several foreign exchange students through this program. In addition, Sophie used her Serbo-Croatian background helping resettle many families from the former Yugoslavia who immigrated to the U.S. after the war.