Ericka Holman Leaves a Legacy to Her Children From Her Heart

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The Holman Children, one-year-old Christina (left) and three-year-old Charrise. Ericka will be remembered by her kids through the heirlooms such as Ericka's voice in their teddy bears, messages from their mother in personalized books, and her thumbprint and inscription on the silver necklaces shown below.

"So we have been faced with this cancer. We are 
not defined by it, we are no less blessed, but we 
are more than conquerors. We have a God who 
loves us. He brings peace when we are in pain, 
He brings strength when we feel like we can't 
make it! God is our very present help in our 
time of great need. God has eternity under 
control!" - Ericka Holman

Ericka and her husband Chris were both attending the International Gospel Church in Ecorse when Ericka’s godmother set them up on a blind date. They fell in love, and married on June 7, 2014. In 2015, they brought their first little girl, Charrise, into the world and the following year, the second girl, Christina, was born.

Before the girls came along, Ericka was a private home care assistant. She cared for a woman with dementia. The only person this woman would talk to was Ericka — and that says a lot about Ericka’s loving, kind, selfless personality.

When the girls arrived, the Holman’s had plans for their family — taking the kids on vacation, maybe to Disney World — but fate had other plans for Ericka.

Ericka began to notice symptoms, a small lump on her breast. She thought it had something to do with childbirth, even though her Grandmother had breast cancer that was non-life-threatening. When Ericka’s legs became swollen, Chris had to take care of the children and Ericka as well because she could hardly walk. One evening at home she almost fell, and Chris took her to the hospital. That was in August of 2017. By October she recieved a diagnosis of terminal breast cancer. She was just 37 years old.

Ericka came to the Angela Hospice Care Center late in October and remained there until her death in December. Right after admission, our volunteer department, with
volunteer coordinator Melayna Morio taking the lead, started on planning the legacy Ericka would leave for her children.

Together, Ericka and Melayna used voice-enabled teddy bears and personalized books to leave messages for the children to hear throughout their lives. They also took Ericka’s thumbprint and put it on a silver pendant for each of the girls and Chris, with a message of love.

Anyone who knew Ericka, however briefly, could see that she was a woman of great faith in God. She never blamed anyone for her fate and never doubted that God would take care of everything.

Ericka died knowing that she was leaving something for her children to remember her by, and knowing that they would always be held in the hands of the Lord.

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