September 3, 1950 – February 4, 2025

Jennifer Anne Holland (née Dougan), 74, passed away on Tuesday, February 4, in her beloved South Lake Tahoe, in the comfort of her home. Born in Kearny, NJ, on September 3, 1950, to the late Dorothy Joan (Fall) Dougan and the late Joseph John Dougan, Jr., the second of 5 sisters, she married Bruce Eugene Holland in 1970, and followed him on his Air Force assignment to Newport News, Virginia.

In 1985, Jennifer set out on a bold life path that took her west, eventually to South Lake Tahoe, where she raised four children entirely on her own as a working single mother. She started her career from scratch in South Lake Tahoe’s hospitality industry. Her path eventually took her to the El Dorado County Department of Human Services, from where she retired in 2016, after 16 years as an eligibility worker. In her golden years, she found fulfillment in volunteering with Barton Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and with Hope Lutheran Church; on a 2018 medical volunteering trip to Honduras with Church Family Missions; in the beaches of South Lake Tahoe, and in cherished childhood memories of her beloved Jersey Shore; in celebrating holidays and birthdays with her kids and grandkids; and even in skydiving, for the first time, at age 62.

She modeled for her children fierce independence, integrity, and hard work ― values which will live on in them as they do their best to keep and cherish the memory of the one-of-a-kind person who brought them into this world and raised them all by herself.

Jennifer was predeceased by her parents; her grandparents Joseph Dougan Sr. & Annie (Clearie) Dougan, of Glasgow and Kearny, and Victor George Fall & Dorothy (Rumble) Fall of Perth, W.A.; and by her granddaughter Stephanie Holland. She is survived by her four children, Jackie (Afro Juarez), Bruce (Kristina), Nicole (Alex Fabrikant), and Jason (Alyssa); eight grandchildren and a grandson-in-law; her sisters Jane (Erin Collins), Betty (Angelo Diakos), Mary (Rich Weiss), and Sue Faherty (Mika The Black Lab), and their families; her ex-husband Bruce; and several wonderful and supportive friends, helpers, and neighbors.

Jennifer generously supported a plethora of charitable causes, among them the American Lung Association, American Red Cross, CARE, Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Ships, Operation Smile, Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission, Salvation Army, Shriners Children’s, St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, UNICEF, Marine Toys for Tots, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, and Feeding America. If you are looking to honor Jennifer’s memory, from among these, the family suggests supporting the American Lung Association.

There will be a memorial for family and friends at McFarlane Mortuary, South Lake Tahoe, at 12:00pm on Sunday, February 23rd. All are welcome.