COLLEEN E. HOLEHAN

Everyone said it was in the genes.

Colleen E. Holehan wasn’t yet potty-trained when her mother first sat her atop a horse. By 8, she was cleaning stalls in exchange for riding lessons. 

“Horses were part of her life from the very beginning,” noted Colleen’s daughter Hillary Stecher. “She quickly became what horse people lovingly call a ‘barn rat.’” 

And she became one of those horse people herself, eventually owning an equine named  Captain.

“(She was) a kid who wanted nothing more than to spend every waking hour at the barn,” Hillary said, “doing anything and everything related to horses.”

High school saw Colleen graduate to caring for thoroughbreds, exercising them in the morning before classes. She went to farrier school after graduation and eventually made equines her career.

Colleen didn’t just ride horses: She shod them, groomed them, bred and broke them. She took care of Standardbreds and made her way into dressage, barrel racing and trick riding.

“From start to finish,” Hillary recounted, “she was entirely hands on.”

But the physical demands of the job and the desire to spend more time with her twin daughters eventually convinced Colleen – then in her 50s – to earn her LPN. That career took her to Deborah Hospital, then to a clinic in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood, where she cared for  families.

The commute from her Burlington County home was long, the rewards infinite.

“She became a trusted and familiar presence, often requested by name,” Hillary related. “She was always willing to go the extra mile, connecting families with resources, answering questions and making sure parents felt informed.”

That’s because Colleen – who was 69 when she passed – could converse with anyone and everyone, according to her daughter.

“She would walk away knowing everything about someone’s family, their job and hobbies,” Hillary pointed out. “ … People would just open up to her.”

Colleen eventually took on home care for medically high-risk children after moving to a small farm in Mantua.

It had just enough room for a horse.

Sources: Smith Funeral Home, Tribute Archive

GEORGE W. MERRYFIELD JR.

There are more than 20 online tributes attached to the obituary of George W. Merryfield Jr., who touched many lives as a founder of the We Can Foundation and other organizations that empower vulnerable individuals and those in recovery.

A ‘broken-hearted mom,” a once-homeless family and a woman who thanked George “for checking on me” recall a man who gave of himself even as he dealt with his own serious health issues. 

“George was a bright light in such a dark place,” wrote Teresa Patrick of the 72-year-old.

Other things he was: Devoted to the Eagles and Phillies. Lover of music and fishing. A fan of scratch-off lottery tickets.

Owner of a well-loved collection of hats. 

But the self-employed businessman found his “life and purpose” helping others, George’s  obituary reveals.   

“He gave selflessly of his time and heart,” it reads, “walking alongside individuals and families facing difficult circumstances and offering them hope, dignity and encouragement.”

Another mourner called him an angel. Jess Luggi agreed.

“George had wings ..”  Luggi remembered in a tribute. “I told him that so many times … He would smile and tell me he’s just a man doing what he can.”

Sources: McCann-Healey Funeral Home, Legacy.com

Inside the obits
People who cared

George Merryfield was among many volunteers and charitable souls who had an impact in South Jersey. Here are some others: 

Patricia Mary Foley volunteered for a number of agencies and organizations in South Jersey, including Contact – a 24/7 suicide and crisis lifeline – a food bank and the Cherry Hill library. Her day job was senior account manager for a Mount Laurel leasing company. Never married, Patricia was 71.

Theodore Coutumas was a noted engineer whose 98 years of life included three retirements, one from Bell Labs, where he helped perfect the transatlantic cable. Somehow he found time to tutor disadvantaged students in mathematics and start a halfway house for ex-offenders and juveniles.  

Patricia L. Frasier’s desire to help others began after college and continued into her 70s. She helped shepherd the Mount Laurel Doctrine – the state’s landmark affordable-housing law – by organizing her community to oppose the displacement of low-income seniors. Even with Parkinson’s disease, the 83-year-old continued to care.

Doris Marie Barko lived for a century – plenty of time to help others in her hometown of Berlin Borough. A Marine sergeant in the medical records field, she served on the zoning and planning boards and was a coordinator for the aging. Doris also took senior citizens on weekly trips and helped provide a bus that would take them to ShopRite. 

Sources: Schetter Funeral Home, Legacy.com, Mount Laurel Home for Funerals and Cremation Services, Courier-Post, Costantino-Primo Funeral Home.

The Good Life appears twice a month. To suggest someone who recently passed away for a tribute, email Christina Mitchell at cmitchell@donnelly.media. Please describe in a few words something about the person’s life.