Kathryn Jeanne Hollister

Born Kathryn Jeanne Haycock in Kansas City, Kathryn lived on Paseo, went to Southeast HS then on to KU where she met Hal Hollister - the love of her life. They married on July 9, 1944 before Hal deployed to Europe to serve in the 42nd Rainbow Division during WWII. When Hal returned, they initially moved to Muskegon, Michigan (Hal’s home), after which they moved to Palo Alto, California for Hal to attend Stanford while Jeanne taught school in neighboring San Bruno to support the newly-wed couple. They spent a few years in Portland, Oregon before returning back home to KC where they raised their family and grew old together.

Jeanne was a teacher but mostly she loved to learn. She was inquisitive, adventurous, athletic, and loved meeting new people. She loved to travel anywhere and everywhere - nothing seemed to stop her.

She and Hal raised 3 kids - Marty, Sidney and Bart. They were such fun parents that all 3 kids stayed in KC to be around them. They were also fun grandparents to Eric and Brad Thomas - even traveling to Disney World twice with them.

After raising her kids - Jeanne was either on the golf course or at the Nelson Art Gallery giving tours as a docent until she was 86 years old.

She fell in love with all the arts - attending the Lyric Opera, KC Rep Theater, Starlight Theater, Quality Hill Theater and Musical Theater Heritage. Jeanne traveled to NYC annually to enjoy performances on Broadway, initially with Hal, then with her daughters.

Jeanne and Hal loved to travel but her favorite city was Florence, Italy because of the wonderful art galleries. She went on many tours with the Nelson Art Gallery.

She and Hal loved golfing together and spent their winters in Hawaii for many years. At 85 years old, they decided to travel around South America on a 70-day cruise to the Antarctic to see the penguins. She never said “no” to any travel opportunity.

After Hal passed in 2011, Jeanne spent her remaining years enjoying time with her children and grandchildren, returning to Sanibel Island in the winter months, and taking in shows and other art performances. She kept a busy social calendar and enjoyed visiting with her loving neighbors and friends. You would find Jeanne and her girlfriends every Friday night at Indian Hills, enjoying dinner and cocktails, and sharing stories about their lives and travels. Jeanne passed peacefully surrounded by family in her home at the age of 100.

Jeanne is survived by her daughters Marty Thomas and Sidney Hollister Booker (Jim), grandsons Eric Thomas (Meghan) and Bradley Thomas (Rachel), and great grandson Owen (Eric and Meghan). Jeanne’s wonderful son, Bart Hollister, passed away unexpectedly December 3, 2022.