In Memoriam: Our Friend Actress Joan Holland, star of The Great Ziegfield

Joan Therese Holland, 83, of Moline, died Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at Unity Point Health - Trinity, Rock Island. A Mass of Christian burial will be 9:30 am Monday at St. Pius X Catholic Church, Rock Island. Visitation will be from 1-4 pm Sunday at Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home, 3030 7th Ave., Rock Island, with a rosary recited at 1 pm. Burial will be private at a later date. Memorials may be made in care of Bread for the World, at www.bread.org. Born on August 28th, 1930, in Chicago, Joan was the daughter of William J. and Marion O'Neail Holland. She was a child actress in the 1930's and appeared in the academy award winning film, "The Great Ziegfeld" in 1936. She attended high school in Hamilton, ON, and graduated from Mundelein College, Chicago, with a degree in English. Joan married John Paul Ryan on August 23, 1952 in Chicago. She worked in advertising for the Rock Island Argus, and for McCabe's Department Store, eventually starting her own advertising agency which she managed for more than 25 years. Joan retired from the Daily Dispatch, where she had been instrumental in the formation and operation of the City Line and Classroom Connection programs. Joan enjoyed theater long after her time in Hollywood, and performed leading roles in several local productions in Chicago, Wisconsin, and the Quad Cities. Joan was an avid participant in Quad Cities Writers Club as a composer of both prose and poetry, and her newspaper column ran weekly in the Moline Daily Dispatch for several years. In retirement she enjoyed painting in oils and water colors, exhibiting her work in several venues around the Quad Cities. Joan had a strong social conscience and often became actively involved in human rights issues, working with several different organizations in an attempt to raise awareness. In 1986 she encountered The Great Peace March as it passed through the Quad Cities, and decided to join, walking most of the way to Washington where she joined the other marchers in a massive demonstration on behalf of world peace. Joan is survived by her 7 children; John Paul (Connie) Ryan Jr., Newark, Del., Jane (Robert) Holmquist, East Moline, Nancy (Ron) Proesel, DeKalb, Ill., Dean (Jan) Ryan, Rock Island, Dave (Terry) Ryan, Rolling Meadows, Ill., Rob (Judi) Ryan, Naperville, Ill., and Jim (Crystal) Ryan, Moline; 19 grandchildren; and 12 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Richard Holland.