Haverhill, NH Velma Louise (Emery) Holden, born November 12, 1919, died September 11, 2009 at her home in Haverhill, surrounded by her family. Velma was the 4th daughter of Fay Sargeant Emery and Gladys (Chesley) Emery, born at the family farm on Indian Pond Road in Piermont, NH. She graduated Valedictorian from Orford High School in 1937; she then attended Bay Path College graduating with highest honors in 1939. She began employment as an Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent at the Brattleboro Retreat and worked there until 1948. In Brattleboro she met her future husband Stanley Frederick Holden. In 1940 they were separated by World War II with him returning from the Pacific in 1945. They were joined in matrimony at the Brattleboro Congregational Church on July 14, 1946. Together they had three children, Sandra Faye, Susan Faith, and Stanley Frederick Holden. In 1949 they moved to Court Street in Haverhill to open the Haverhill General Store and Velma continued to live on the same street for the next 60 years. In 1958 they also purchased the Warren General Store which Velma was the manager and operator of until her retirement in 1982. There she enjoyed the friendship of so many Warren and Wentworth residents. On November 1, 1973, Stanley passed away and in 1980 she reacquainted with Cecil Bean, a high school friend. Together they shared the next 25 years, until Cecil s passing on July 15, 2005. Velma stood for excellence in all that she did. She was a generous, gentle, and loving mother and grandmother, and an excellent cook. She loved to travel and enjoyed many trips with family both at home and abroad. She was accomplished in cross-stitch and enjoyed the arts, especially music. Velma was also predeceased by three sisters, Bernice Pierson, Erma Kurtz, and Christie Emery. She is survived by her three children Sandy Holden Knapp and husband Dexter, Susan Faith Holden, and Toot Holden all of Haverhill, her sister Margery Manning of North Haverhill, grandsons Hubbel and Jaben Knapp, granddaughters Kara Holden Erb and husband Josh, and Ashley Holden, sisters-in-law Beulah Holden of Burke, VT and Ruth Holden Wells of Brattleboro, many nieces, nephews. She will always be remembered as a life well lived by her adoring family and pets Machiach and Muffet Thunder. There will be no calling hours. Funeral services will be held on September 26th, at 10:30 AM at the First Congregational Church of Haverhill, UCC. Interment services will follow the church service at Ladd Street Cemetery, Haverhill. A gathering of family and friends for a luncheon will follow the cemetery service at Alumni Hall, Court Street, Haverhill. Monetary donations in memory of Velma are requested to be given to the Haverhill Corner Medical Rescue Unit, c/o Mr. Michael Lavoie, Haverhill, NH 03765, or to the Alumni Hall NH-VT Arts Program, c/o Mr. Mark Chaine, Haverhill, NH 03765.