Carol Ann Holzli

Carol Ann Holzli (nee Adamcik), age 73 of Wayne, passed away peacefully at home on Monday, September 9, 2019 while receiving the loving care of her family.

Carol was born in Passaic and raised in Garfield and Rochelle Park. After graduating from Pope Pius High School in Passaic, Class of 1963, she attended Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing in Montclair. Graduating in 1966, she began her career as a Registered Nurse at Mountainside Hospital. After taking time to raise her family, she resumed her nursing career at Hackensack Hospital and retired in 2010 after 28 years.

Carol met the love of her life, Felix Holzli, while out for a night of bingo at St. Stephen’s Church in Passaic. Carol liked to play bingo with her mom and Felix was the number caller. Intrigued by Felix, one night she went up to him and struck up a conversation, then, she pretty much asked him out. One of their first dates was to the Finger Lakes and, over time, their friendship grew to become love. One day, Carol and Felix were attending her aunt's wedding. As the ceremony ended, while Carol and Felix were still sitting in the church pews, Felix offered Carol a stick of gum. Accepting his offer, it did not take long for her to realize the gum in the sleeve was replaced with an engagement ring! Carol was so excited and showed everyone as they were coming out of the church sanctuary. Soon after, the wedding date was set for Saturday, May 4, 1968. Carol and Felix exchanged their wedding promises before God, friends and family at Sacred Heart Church in Rochelle Park. A reception at the VFW Hall in Saddle Brook followed with a live band. Everyone had so much fun the celebration went until 2:00 in the morning. The next day, the newlyweds were off to Bermuda for their honeymoon.

Carol and Felix’s first home was an apartment in the two-family home of Carol’s grandmother in Garfield. Soon after, they purchased their own home in Saddle Brook where they remained for a short time until building a house in Wayne, where they have resided since 1972.

Some of Carol’s greatest pastimes included a love for music, Broadway productions, and reading. A huge Barry Manilow fan, she saw him live in concert eight times. She also liked Kenny Rogers’ music and even saw Bon Jovi in concert with her daughters. Broadway made a lot of money off of Carol too. She loved a night out on Broadway and saw many shows including both the original performance of Hello Dolly with Carol Channing and the later version with Bette Midler. She also liked Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, Roger and Hammerstein’s Carousel, as well as My Fair Lady, and Fiddler on the Roof. When it came to books, Carol could never resist a good romance novel by best-selling author Danielle Steel.

Carol was a long-time parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Wayne where she was honored to serve as a Eucharistic Minister. Her faith was most important to her, followed closely by her loving devotion to her family.

Carol especially enjoyed having all of her family together during the holidays. She continued the very special Polish Christmas traditions passed down from her grandparents and parents. In 2003, Carol and Felix took their family to Hawaii to celebrate their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. Then, in 2008, after forty years of wedded bliss, their children surprised them with a trip to Las Vegas to renew their vows with Elvis at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding chapel. They broadcasted the great milestone to friends and family back home. Earlier in her life, Carol especially enjoyed trips down the Jersey Shore to Wildwood. More recently, she and Felix enjoyed a condominium they purchased in Ocean City, Maryland. Carol never went in the water but always had a smile on her face sitting under a beach umbrella with her feet in the sand and a good book in her hands.

Carol is the beloved wife of Felix, blessed in marriage for 51 years; loving mother of: Tim Holzli and his wife Lynn of Mullica Hill, NJ, Lori Schultz of North Redington Beach, FL and her late husband Johnnie Schultz (September 2018), and the late Suzanne “Sue” Holzli (September 2018); dear sister of the late Edward (June 2019) and wife Barbara Adamcik of Paramus and dearest friend of 56 years, Anita Holtzberg of Boynton Beach, FL.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Carol’s name are asked to consider St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.