Margaret Marien Holbert was born in 1909 in Sedalia, Missouri. After graduating high school, she attended the Kansas City National Training School in Kansas City for deaconess training and graduated from there in 1932. She also received a bachelor’s degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1941 and a master’s from Iliff School of Theology in 1960. Holbert served the Nebraska, Central Kansas and Kansas West Conferences for over 40 years. In 1956, while Holbert was serving as a local elder in Norcatur, the Methodist church allowed women to be admitted in full connection. She was among the first women to take advantage of this in the Central Kansas Conference; even in the 1970s, Holbert was one of only ten ordained female pastors in the conference and often struggled to make ends meet on her low salary. Holbert settled in the Hutchinson area later in life, receiving the “Women of the Year” award in education in 1975. In 1977, Holbert moved to the Wesley Towers retirement community and also served as an assistant chaplain there. She participated in several local activities, including Reno County’s Council on Aging and KTVH Television’s “Pastor’s Study.” She remained in Hutchinson until her death in 1989.

Note written by Sara DeCaro