March 22, 2007

Leaving a literary legacy

Erna Holyer 1925—2007

Longtime writing teacher inspired students to reach for their dreams

German immigrant was prolific author who overcame adversity to publish 18 books

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

A literary era ended this past Thursday.

Author and beloved teacher Erna Maria Holyer, 82, died peacefully at her Almaden Valley home on March 15 at 11:15 p.m. of metastatic breast cancer. She was surrounded by the many books she had written and the art she had painted. Earlier in the day, friends and former students visited the frail woman to celebrate her 82nd birthday.
“What a sad day for all of us,” said friend and author Ursula Meier. “Erna was the godmother to our literary successes. We will miss her greatly.”

Students and friends recently gathered at Erna Holyer’s Almaden home to celebrate her 82nd birthday. Later that night she passed away, ending a teaching career where she inspired her students to become published writers. The background wall showcases Holyer’s paintings. From left: Dale Tibbels, Ursula Smith, Louise Cate, Annick Shinn, Henry Cate, Rosemarie Niles and Larry Matthews.

Holyer was born in 1925 and raised in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. The family business was a hotel in Weilheim, Germany until Hitler came into power and the family lost their home and business to the Nazis and moved to the country. At the Freskenhof, an estate her parents managed to retain, she educated herself with the aid of books.

In 1948 when she was only 22, her heart started to fail, which she shared in her 2004 book, “Survival: an Electrifying Tale.” At the time, heart surgery was considered experimental and she was told that anesthesia would put too much strain on her heart during the surgery, so she went through the operation without it.

Holyer met her future husband, American-born Gene Holyer, when she clerked at a nearby American military school. After the couple married, they moved to San Jose in 1956. The couple never had children.

She pursued studies in English, creative writing, journalism, and the fine arts. In the 1950s, she became a citizen of her new country. She contributed articles and short stories to over 200 publications. She also published many books for young readers.

Holyer’s first book for children, “Rescue at Sunrise,” [1965] was translated into German. Her love of New Almaden was penned as the setting in “Shoes for Daniel” [1974] and “Reservoir Road Adventure” [1982], as well as the plight of migrant workers. Her meticulous research even included a stint working in the fields. In 2002, she documented life under Hitler’s dictatorship in the fiction work “Dangerous Secrets: a Young Girl’s Travails under the Nazis.”

In 1968 the Holyers moved to Almaden Valley and Erna started teaching creative writing, a vocation she continued at the Adult Metropolitan Education Program at Del Mar High school until last spring when ailing health ended her tutelage to hundreds of aspiring writers through the years who became published under her guidance.

Holyer taught “Fact and Fiction for Fun and Profit” during the Metropolitan Adult Education Program in 2005.

In an e-mail sent in October 2006, Holyer discussed her career as a teacher:

“My class, then called “Writing Articles for Publication,” started in 1968. Since then, I’ve been teaching mostly in the Almaden and Campbell areas. Why did I teach so long? I loved my students and looked forward to each class session. Their successes prove that they responded with enthusiasm. I am not teaching this fall. It’s enough. I miss my class and my precious students but my health is not the greatest.”

Rosemarie Niles, a student and friend, remembers the first time she attended the petite, always impeccably dressed Holyer’s creative writing class.

“I first attended Erna Holyer’s writing class in 1976,” Niles said. “It was crowded with ‘wannabe writers.’ One day each week for three hours she’d hold us spellbound. We couldn’t get enough of her fabulous insights into the writing world. Later classes were held in various locations ending up at the Metropolitan Adult Education Program’s facilities at Del Mar High School. Her class was always filled to overflowing. I dropped out many times for various family reasons but I always came back. As a budding writer, I needed her guidance and friendship. She taught writing from the ground up—no gimmicks, just plain basics.”

Niles was glad she had a chance to say goodbye to her longtime mentor. “I’m sure she was aware of all the love and prayers generated by her dear friends surrounding her on her last day. She was loved and admired by so many. She always said we were her family,” added Niles.

“I remember my first time in Erna’s class,” Mary Chiao said. “She passed around a large yellow pad filled with class names and said ‘does anyone have a badge of honor this week?’ Several people wrote their names down. I thought that these classmates had something published but it turned out the badge of honor she was talking about was an editor’s rejection! Erna made sure we never got discouraged with rejections. They were ‘badges of honor.’ I’ll never forget Erna Holyer. She was an inspiration.”

Author Dale Tibbels agrees. He attended Holyer’s creating writing classes and with her guidance wrote two techno-thrillers novels.

“Erna had a way to prod you that kept you going,” Tibbels said. “That was why her teaching style was so great. She gave you technique and then you brought it to the next class to share. She’d say ‘show, don’t tell.’ She had a wonderful life and was the best teacher in the world.”

In 1959, Francis Vogler met Erna Holyer when they were in the same citizenship class. They remained friends ever since. Vogler’s daughter Jeanette Lavoie attended Holyer’s “Fact or Fiction, for Fun and Profit” writing class and became a published author. “I remember there was a package from Erna for me every Christmas,” said Lavoie. “She encouraged me to write my devotional book ‘The Bread Lady’s Quest.’ She was inspirational to me.” From left: Mary Chiao, Charles “Chuck: Simms, Vogler and Jeanette Lavoie.

Though Holyer ended her 39-year teaching career last fall due to deteriorating health, she still wrote with the same determined work ethic. Just a few days before her death, she completed “Life and Love in Early California” and “How to Write [and Sell] Profiles,” a companion book to her “Self-Help for Writers - Winners Show You How” [2002].

“There is a personal history to these stories,” wrote Holyer in an e-mail regarding ‘Life and Love in Early California’ in September 2006. “I was laid up in my new dream house several years ago in the Almaden Valley for a full two years after my second heart surgery. I badly needed cheer and these stories elated me. I didn’t know whether or not I was dying. So I wrote these history stories showing life under the Spanish Californians from the coming of the settlers in the late 1700s to the coming of the Americans in the mid-1800s. They lifted my spirit, especially when I saw them published in California newspapers [San Diego Union, San Jose Mercury and Sacramento Union.]. Also, the fan mail was gratifying. I look forward to seeing them in book form.”

In 2004, Holyer penned an autobiography “Survival: an Electrifying Tale,” which chronicled her amazing life apart from writing and teaching. She survived Hitler’s dictatorship in Germany, World War II bombings, two major heart surgeries, breast cancer and the death of her husband in 1999. Her inspiration for her creative endeavors was her sister who died at 23.

“I was a teenager when my sister died suddenly,” Holyer said in a 2005 Almaden Times interview. “It shocked me into the realization that when a person dies nothing remains. I thought of musicians, writers and creative spirits whose work survives. I decided to become a writer at that time and that this was my mission in life.”

Of her own stamina with serious health issues, living under Hitler’s dictatorship, moving to another country and the successful pursuit as a respected author, educator, and artist were many others fail, Holyer was pragmatic.

“I believe I accessed my survival essence,” Holyer said. “I believe this mysterious energy, force, or instinct, is inside everyone and can be activated in times of need.”

Nan Hunter was Holyer’s friend for over 30 years. The two women became fast friends while walking the hills in
their Almaden Valley neighborhood, which Hunter believes extended the life span of the fragile woman.

“Mrs. Holyer was ready,” Hunter said. “A few hours before I said to her ‘it’s OK to go.’

She’s in a better place and doesn’t hurt anymore. She was an amazing woman. Teaching was her whole life. It gave her strength and energy. It was everything to her. It was a joyful journey, inspiring and a privilege to know Mrs. Holyer. She was like family.”

Caregiver Larry Matthews and Hunter planned Holyer’s birthday party so that her students could say their bittersweet goodbyes to the teacher who inspired them to become published writers and authors with her carefully planned lessons and no-nonsense style.

“She was a great lady,” Matthews said. “We are all honored to know her and share some of the greatest times of our lives with her. She wanted this birthday party to say goodbye to everyone. We were her loved ones, her family. We have lost an icon of self-determination, sacrifice and a love of writing.”

The cover of Holyer’s autobiography.

Holyer is listed in “Contemporary Authors, Who’s Who in America,” “Who’s Who in American Education,” “Who’s Who in U.S. Writers, Editors and Poets,” and “200 Outstanding Artists and Designers of the Century.” In 1972, she received the LEFOLI Award for Excellence in Adult Education Instruction. Her professional affiliations include the National League of American Pen Women [NLAPW], American Biographical Institute and World University Roundtable.

Not only was Holyer a prolific author, she had shown her oil paintings in competitive juried exhibitions and one-woman art shows. She won awards and exhibited at the International Biographical Center Art Gallery in some of the world’s major cities. Based on an exhibit at Cambridge University, she received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Art from the London Institute in 1992.

“Erna Holyer earned deep respect and love from the Pen Women who were fortunate enough to have known her as a teacher and those who knew her as a friend,” NLAPW Santa Clara County Branch President Christine Dargahi said. “She had the gift of helping people see the light in their writing and in themselves. Many of our members had been students in her creative writing classes. As well as a memorable teacher, Erna was a prolific and successful writer who wrote children’s books and self help books for writers. Erna was a consummate Pen Woman whose legacy will endure for generations to come.”

According to Holyer’s wishes, there will be no service and she will be interred near her childhood home by the foothills of the Bavarian Alps in Germany. In her honor, her students vow to hold a yearly reunion luncheon to remember their feisty mentor.