Brenda Joyce Saunders Holland was born in Sylva, North Carolina on December 7, 1946. The eldest daughter of Harold Davis and Opal Cordelia Killian Saunders, Brenda established herself as a leader from an early age. She was her mother’s helper, trusted to care for her younger siblings, and she was their protector. She loved her brothers Dean, Scott, and David (Dob), and her sisters, Dianne, Cheryl (Bunny), and Lynn dearly. For years, her favorite time of day was the three-way call she had with her sisters each morning. Brenda was highly intelligent and allowed to skip the third grade.

Her teachers later considered promoting her to the fifth grade that same year. The
family attended Tuckasegee Wesleyan Church, where the children enjoyed participating
in Christmas plays. Brenda and her brother, Dean, with whom she remained close,
assisted with the animals and worked for Saunders Produce, their father’s business.
Her best friend was Lois Cogdill (nee’ Powell) with whom she maintained a lifelong
friendship.

Due to her father’s work, the family moved frequently throughout Brenda’s
childhood. She became skilled at making friends and adapting to new schools. In the
early 1950’s and 1960’s, the family relocated numerous times including to Oregon,
North Carolina, and Georgia. Brenda returned to North Carolina to attend Cullowhee
High School, where she graduated in 1964. During her time at Cullowhee, she won the
Betty Crocker Award and participated in the Future Homemakers of America (FHA)
club, chorus, the pep squad, and was a library assistant.

Brenda met her future husband, Bill, in 1973, when she accompanied a friend to
the legendary Atlanta nightclub “Richard’s”, where Bill was sitting in with the Atlanta
Rhythm Section. While on break, Bill approached Brenda and asked her to dance. They
were married in June 1974 and resided in Stockbridge, Georgia. While the marriage did
not last, it resulted in three children. Brenda was a devoted mother, who instilled in her
children a strong work ethic, a clear knowledge of right and wrong, and a sense of
integrity. Since 2016, Brenda has lived in McDonough where her daughter and niece,
Amy, were honored to care for her.

During her career, Brenda was a payroll clerk for J.C. Penney, a secretary at New
Covenant Church of God, and she excelled as a statistical technician and dedicated
public servant for multiple state agencies, including the Georgia Department of
Agriculture, the Georgia Department of Labor, and the Internal Revenue Service. She
was extremely proud that all three of her children continued the tradition of public
service. Brenda was also her mother’s caregiver until her death in 2012.

Brenda was a member of New Covenant Church of God, where she served in
several ministries over the years. She enjoyed watching Hallmark movies, police
dramas, Braves games, and Nascar. She loved hot wings, Chinese food, gravy, cornbread, tomato sandwiches, and pickles. Brenda delighted in their pets, Xowie, Tate, Charlie, Valentine, and Kismet. She adored her entire family.

She is survived by her son Jon and daughter-in-law Julie Wade Holland of
Ellenwood, Georgia; daughter Jamee Green of McDonough, Georgia; and son Jeremy
Holland of Plano, Texas; grandchildren Elizabeth, Garrett, Gavin (Samantha), Lindy,
Logan, Matthew, Morgan, Shea, and Thea; great-grandchildren, Eden, Eleanor, Elliott,
Emilia, Thomas, Timothy, and Virginia; sister Dianne ( Wayne) Sims; brothers David
(Lynn) and Dean ( Virginia) Saunders; numerous nieces and nephews that she
cherished, their children and grandchildren (a few of which gave her great joy as the
center in her window of the world); and many cousins. She was preceded in death by
her precious parents, Harold and Opal Saunders, her sisters Bunny Johnson and Lynn
Allen, her brother Scott Saunders, her daughter-in-law Kristie Wood Holland, and her
Aunt Barbara Russell, who arrived in Heaven only a couple of days before her.

Georgia Cremation and Horace Ward Funeral Directors are overseeing
arrangements. Brenda will be laid to rest in Fairview Memorial Gardens, Stockbridge,
Georgia, on a date to be determined.

Brenda was known and loved for her kindness, wit, reliability, and genuine
nature, but her legacy will be her devotion to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The
impact that she had on others, both personally and spiritually, has never been more
evident than in the last few days. Through the illness that took her life, she never
stopped witnessing to others, and she never for a moment doubted God. In the end,
despite health challenges and other hardships, Brenda departed this world victoriously.
She finished the race and kept the faith. Her absence leaves a hole in the hearts of
those that love her, but the knowledge that she is finally with her Lord and Savior gives
us peace. She will always be with us.