Ellen VanArsdale Hollandbeck

February 13, 1937 - August 11, 2021

Ellen VanArsdale Hollandbeck passed away on August 11th in Brownsburg, Indiana. Ellen was born during the Great Flood on February 13, 1937, to the late Bertram C. and Elizabeth Dove Attkisson VanArsdale in Louisville, Kentucky. She graduated from Eastern High School and the University of Kentucky in 1959, with a degree in Elementary Education. She was an elementary school teacher in several Jefferson County, Kentucky schools and Birmingham, Michigan for years. She especially loved her years teaching for the Air Force in the Azore Islands, France, and Germany. Ellen married Floyd O. Hollandbeck, from Bargersville, Indiana, on August 19th, 1967. They met at Laon Air Force Base in France and celebrated fifty years together in 2017. They lived most of their married life in Indianapolis. They were both named as Kentucky Colonels. Membership in several organizations enriched Ellen’s life. She was a member of Old Bethel United Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday school for twenty-four years and in the weekday school for sixteen years. At Old Bethel, she was a member of the United Methodist Women and served as the Spiritual Growth Chairman for many years, and was also a member of the Rebekah Circle. She was a proud alumna of the Indianapolis chapter of Alpha Xi Delta fraternity she joined at U.K., as well as a member of Chapter BX of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, a philanthropic organization that helps women worldwide to achieve their educational goals. Ellen had a fierce love of the written word, and was legendary for her life-long habit of sending hand-written cards and letters to friends and family. She was an incredibly generous person and a faithful friend, who valued education and travel and the arts, and truly rejoiced when her family and friends experienced happiness and success. She had a deep love of reading, with a special interest in children’s literature, curating a personal collection of wonderful books she read to children and grandchildren to nurture a love of reading in the next generations of her family. She was always quick to send books to families with new babies or for children’s birthdays, helping to build the libraries of so many. Ellen also loved attending the theater, and for many years enjoyed attending performances as a season ticket holder of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. A devoted wife and mother, Ellen is survived by her husband Floyd, and three children: Frances Elizabeth Barnes (Andy), Daniel Floyd Hollandbeck (Jennifer), and Christopher Dawson Hollandbeck (Carin). She dearly loved and was so proud of her eight grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, Herbert VanArsdale II, and two nieces, Kary VanArsdale Tanner and Sarah VanArsdale Combs. Ellen was much beloved by her family, who will miss her greatly, buoyed by a lifetime of fond memories, and honoring her each time they write a hand-written letter or dive into a new book. A graveside service will be held for Ellen in Louisville, Kentucky at Cave Hill Cemetery on Wednesday, August 25th at 11:00 am. Friends may gather at the Broadway entrance at 10:50 am. A visitation (10:30am to 11:30am) and memorial service will be held at Old Bethel United Methodist Church in Indianapolis on Saturday, September 4th. Memorial contributions may go to Old Bethel United Methodist Church, or the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.