Anita Mohr Holst

In the company of a dear friend and caregivers, Anita Mohr Heywood Holst was peacefully called to be with the Lord on June 29, 2026. In her final weeks, Anita was blessed with numerous visits from many friends, neighbors, and garden club members, who brought beautiful bouquets of flowers that she deeply treasured. She was also able to video chat with her dearest longtime friend from Germany. Throughout these visits, many memorable stories were shared; Anita joined in as best as she could, adding a soft word, smiling sweetly, and looking on with sparkling eyes.

Anita’s remarkable journey began in Germany, where she was born on February 1, 1933. At birth, she was recognized by the City of Frankfurt hospital as their smallest surviving premature baby at that time. As a young child, she overcame immense challenges, fleeing for safety with her family and surviving World War II bombardments by U.S. and Allied forces—on one harrowing occasion, a fighter plane’s gunfire missed her by just a few inches.

After the war, Anita excelled in school, particularly in math and science. Fluent in multiple languages, she became a highly sought after European travel advisor for an international corporation followed by as a highly trusted banking associate. In 1955, Anita immigrated to New York, working as an executive secretary and accountant in New York City. In 1958, she married Frederick Heywood, a CBS television and radio executive, and the couple relocated to St. Louis.

Anita quickly became known as “the hostess with the mostest” and was celebrated for making her own evening gowns and styling her hair after First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Indeed, looking exceptionally stylish from head to toe remained her daily trademark throughout her entire life. Anita proudly became a U.S. citizen in 1961. Following Fred's passing, Anita moved to Lebanon, Illinois, and later married Donald Holst, a professor at McKendree College.

Anita dearly loved horses and dogs, and over the years, she was a proud “mom” to several Schnauzers and Dachshunds. She was also a passionate member of the St. Louis Cactus, Hosta, and Daylily Societies. When she purchased her Lebanon home in 1974, the yard was a bare landscape with only a single tree. Over the decades, drawing inspiration from Henry Shaw’s Missouri Botanical Garden, she creatively designed and meticulously maintained her entire property as a one-of-a-kind, fourseason botanical paradise. She artistically built berms to add vertical dimension and structure to her expansive collection of rare, sun- and shade-loving perennials from around the world. She even built a greenhouse dedicated to over 1,000 different cacti, which was by far the largest collection in the Midwest at the time. Over the years, she also carefully integrated more than 200 hostas and 250 daylilies throughout her garden oasis—each a unique, rare, and prize-winning variety.

To complement her garden, Anita continued her education in floral design and 35mm photography. She shot and developed professional slides of her floral specialties and became a featured lecturer at several large cactus, hosta, and daylily conventions. In addition to a majestic Olympic Oak that she grew from a seed, Anita manicured each of her bushes and trees with a Japanese bonsai-like artistry. Nearly 30 years before they became popular, this pioneering gardener created her own rain garden and a goldfish pond beautifully ringed with diverse perennial varieties.

Her extraordinary garden became well-known throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area, drawing large groups who traveled by bus just to view it. As a faithful member of the Garden Club of Lebanon, her property was featured on several annual “Secret Garden Tours,” inspiring generations of budding gardeners. Anita was also exceptionally talented at flower arranging, earning several first-place blue ribbons.

Anita was an active member of the United Methodist Church of Lebanon, IL. In every aspect of her life, Anita fully embraced the abundance of God’s nature and shared that joy with everyone she met. Her loved ones take comfort in knowing she is now homeward bound to be eternally with the Lord, perhaps even tending to His heavenly gardens.

Anita was preceded in death by her father, Paul Karl Mohr; her mother, Sybille Steigerwald; her brother, Manfred Mohr; her husband, Frederick S. Heywood; and her former husband, Donald Lee Holst.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First United Methodist Church, Lebanon, IL, or the Belleville Area Humane Society, 1301 S. 11th St., Belleville, IL.

A celebration of life memorial service will be led by Reverend Aletha Weatherall at the First United Methodist Church of Lebanon, Illinois, on Saturday, 18 July 2026 at 10 AM.