Penney Carlisle Holman, age 79, a longtime resident of Sedro-Woolley, Washington passed away at home April 3, 2023.  She was born November 20, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York to Robert and Carol (Penney) Carlisle.

Despite being raised in New York City, Penney grew up exploring nature with her mother in local parks and was active in scouting.  During summer vacations as a child, she road-tripped in a convertible with her dad and brother to visit family on the west coast, exploring U.S. and Canadian national parks along the way.  Penney’s long-time love of the outdoors found a perfect fit, when she met and married her husband, Robert Dwane Holman in 1966.  Together they passed on this passion to their three children, Roy, Carol and Nancy.  As a family, they enjoyed salmon and trout fishing, clam digging, camping and exploring natural areas, as well as raising a menagerie of pets and farm animals.  Penney enjoyed a tight bond with her daughter-in-law Nanci (Smith) and was grateful for her son-in-law Kevin Osterman who supports his wife, Carol’s love of animals.  She was happy to welcome her new son-in-law, Michael Prochoda to the family.

Penney had a drive for service and caregiving from an early age, and she dedicated herself as a patient and nurse advocate throughout her long career as a nurse and nurse manager.  She graduated from the University of Washington Nursing Program in 1965.  She proudly served in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corp at Great Lakes and NAS Whidbey providing care to service members returning from the Vietnam War.  After joining the United General Hospital staff in 1968, she completed an intensive course in Cardiac Care Nursing and instructed other staff nurses in cardiac care.  In 1969, she was an integral part of the team that opened a state-of-the-art, and award-winning, coronary care unit.  She was also instrumental in setting up the Intensive Care Unit and became the hospital’s Critical Care Coordinator, managing ICU, CCU, ER, ambulance and Recovery Room.  She went on to become a head nurse, supervisor, and in 1980, the Director of Nursing Services.  In 1985, she coordinated the expansion of the hospital to include the north wing, radiology and ER.  She served on the Skagit Valley College Nursing Advisory Committee and received numerous honors from the college for her on-going support of nursing students through direct teaching and program advisory roles.  She was a force in facilitating a stronger leadership role for nurses in patient care and continued to be a patient and nurse advocate until the end.  Later in her career she served as the Director of Nursing Services for Affiliated Health Services, Alderwood Long Term Care, and Mountain Glen Retirement Center, then became a Nurse Delegator.  In retirement, Penney found time to enjoy planting a yard full of flowers and quilting as part of a local quilting group.  She donated to a variety of organizations that supported veterans and elderly animals.

Penney is survived by her children, Carol (Kevin) Osterman and Nancy (Michael Prochoda) Holman; brother, Robert (Nancy) Carlisle and nephews, Steve and Dave Carlisle.  She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Robert Holman; son, Roy Dwane Holman.

A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 am, Friday, April 21, 2023, at Bayview Civic Hall located at 12615 C St., Mt. Vernon, WA.  In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to her favorite charity, Help Heal Veterans (healvets.org), an organization that provides therapeutic craft kits to veterans and active duty military.  Share your memories of Penney and sign the online guest register