Mother Abbess Robin Lee Holloway, OCC
February 20, 1952 – February 18, 2026
Bishop Ivan B. MacKillop, OCC
April 1, 1948 – June 24, 2026
Robin Lee Holloway was born February 20, 1952, to Ernest and Beverley (Bailey) Holloway in Crescent City, California. She was the third of four children.
Robin always had a unique approach to life. She was fearless, funny and gifted. She had a talent for art and painted beautiful windows for the holidays.
Robin graduated from Del Norte High School in 1970. In 1971, she moved to Marysville, California, and began attending Yuba College. During her first week of school, she met a young man who had recently been discharged from the Navy. The story goes that during their first theater class, he got her attention with a book to her bum and invited her out for coffee. She said yes, and they were married April 3, 1971. She and Ivan were together for nearly 55 years.
Over the years, Robin held a number of jobs. She took classes and learned furniture reupholstery. She worked as a waitress and at a bakery, and she was an excellent baker. There was a time when she even ground her own wheat to bake bread. One of her favorite meals to make was homemade pizza with a bread-dough crust. It was often served as Christmas dinner.
After moving to Springfield, Oregon, in 1984, Robin took classes through Lane Extension and became a Master Gardener. She also spent time working for Vicki Lane as a painter. Her final employment was with Oregon Lox, where she worked as a line supervisor.
In the early 2000s, she left her job to become Ivan’s full-time caregiver. During this time, she became incredibly proficient at origami. Family members often received her beautiful creations as Christmas presents.
During the final year of her life, Robin’s health slowly declined. She had fallen multiple times without knowing the cause. Finally, in September 2025, she and Ivan were both found on the floor of their home. Ivan had suffered a stroke, and Robin was found to have gliosarcoma, a very aggressive brain cancer.
She took the news in stride. During the final weeks of her life, she would become lost in the world her diseased brain was creating and could not be talked out of it. She and Ivan were living in an adult foster care home in Eugene, Oregon. She spent much of her final weeks inconsolable, concerned that if she died, the world itself would disappear.
However, on Ash Wednesday, February 18, she was lucid. The Rev. Birch Rambo, who visited every couple of weeks, brought the Eucharist and performed the imposition of ashes. Robin had a coherent conversation with Father Birch and Ivan. Then, within a few hours, she was gone.
Ivan Bradley MacKillop was born Bradley David Fritts on April 1, 1948, to Eugene and Harriot (McKellips) Fritts in Sacramento, California. He was the younger brother of Randy Fritts, who died July 13, 2026.
Ivan was rarely known as Brad except within his family. In high school, he was known as Deke. He chose the name Ivan after his paternal grandfather, and his last name, MacKillop, was an adaptation of his mother’s maiden name.
After high school, Ivan joined the Navy and served aboard the USS Enterprise for three years during the Vietnam War. After his discharge from the Navy, Ivan also began attending Yuba College, and the story of what happened next has already been told.
To Ivan, Robin was drop-dead gorgeous—a stone-cold fox. He could not imagine being with anyone else.
Over the years, Ivan worked in security for various apartment complexes in Sacramento. He was a bartender at Spider Murphy’s in Old Sacramento. He was often involved in theater productions at many locations throughout the Sacramento area and Northern California, and his nieces remember him working as a department store Santa Claus for several years.
One of his greatest triumphs and joys was the season he worked as a massage therapist for the San Francisco 49ers during spring training in Rocklin, California. After moving to Springfield, he worked for several years as a massage therapist at Garden Way Chiropractic, often working with some of Oregon’s great track stars.
Ivan’s health deteriorated because of multiple long-term complications, including post-polio syndrome and injuries from a major motorcycle accident that occurred not many months after he and Robin were married. In the mid-2000s, Ivan had both of his legs amputated, and Robin was there to do and be all that he needed.
Ivan and Robin never had children, but in 1992, a young woman named Dawn Brown entered their lives at a time when she needed a safe haven. She never left. Dawn’s life changed dramatically through the nurturing and love of these two generous people. She changed her name to Robin MacKillop and became part of the extended family as a “daughter of the heart.”
For more than 35 years, Robin and Ivan led Saint Brendan’s Church of the Culdees, an Orthodox Old Catholic Celtic Rite church, and were members of the Order of the Celtic Cross. Saint Brendan’s provided Mass for Catholics who were disillusioned with or estranged from traditional Catholic worship.
Robin is survived by her siblings, Orrinda (Richard) Stockton, Roy (Pam) Holloway and Michele (Bob Brissenden) Holloway, as well as many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
Ivan is survived by his sister-in-law, Konnie Fritts; her three daughters, Jeanne, Angie and Tamara; and their children.
The family would like to extend its thanks to Dr. John Roberts and the VA Home Care team; Cascade Hospice; Jackie and the staff at PrimeCare Adult Foster Care; the Rev. Birch Rambo of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Eugene; Fritz, Sister Susan and Liam McReynolds; and Brother Steven Robertson, who was always available to lend a hand and drive them wherever they needed to go.
The family also extends special thanks to Michele Holloway for taking on the responsibility of serving as power of attorney for both Robin and Ivan and navigating the many aspects of their care during the final months of their lives.
A graveside service celebrating the lives of Robin and Ivan will be held September 16, 2026, at 2 p.m. at Springfield Memorial Gardens, 73rd and Main streets in Springfield, Oregon. All are welcome to attend this time of sharing and love.
Post Views: 2
