Barbara Ellen (Hansen) Holak Barbara passed away on July 23, 2018 in Hammond, Louisiana at approximately 1:30 PM. Barbara was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 29, 1936 to Harold John Hansen and Mildred Barbara Vykoukal, both born in Chicago. Barbara was the third of seven children - Richard (dec. 1999), Bill (dec. 2008), then Barbara, John, Judy, Linda, and Nancy. Barbara was named after her paternal and maternal Grandmothers - Barbara (Nepresh/Vykoukal) and Ellen (Pickett/Hansen). Barbara’s Grandfather, Joseph Francis Vykoukal (born in Bavaria, Germany) was the proprietor of “Vykoukal’s”, a tavern at 16th and Pulanski streets in Chicago. Barbara grew up in a typical urban working-class Chicago neighborhood. When she entered the workforce, Barbara was hired and trained as a Switchboard Operator for AT&T. She later became a Draftsman at Western Electric where she utilized her artistic flair with penmanship. In 1956, Barbara married Metchislaw (Mike) Holak and she delivered two Sons, Michael William and James Anthony, both born in Berwyn, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Barbara and her family lived at 23rd and Sawyer streets in Chicago, then relocated to California (San Mateo and Sunnyvale), where Metchislaw worked for Varian and Allied Gear. They then decided to move back to Chicago for a short time, and then to a small town north of New Orleans in 1967 called Ponchatoula. They chose Louisiana because in 1949, Metchislaw’s immigrant family was sponsored by the First Baptist Church of Independence, Louisiana to come to America, and Ponchatoula was just south. In Ponchatoula, Metchislaw built a brick home with his own two hands on 15 acres on Sawmill Road (purchased from Jake Harper). On that small farm, they raised row crops, chickens, and pigs. Barbara’s two boys, Michael and James, were always busy - fishing in the two nearby ponds and a creek, feeding the animals, riding bicycles, swimming, killing snakes, playing music, hunting, driving the tractor, and exploring the swamplands surrounding the property. Even though money was hard to come by, life in her family was good, and Barbara remembered those years as, “the happiest years of my life.” In 1973 Barbara’s oldest son, Michael William, became ill, and Metchislaw and Barbara divorced in 1974. In 1975, Michael William passed, and we could hardly bear the incredible sorrow. The loss of Michael was devastating. But especially so to Barbara, as she could not accept his passing, her heart so badly broken that she struggled with daily life in a world that deprived her of her first child. Barbara became reclusive, even to her son James, and she remained in a world where this life, her life, was not important, and looked only to the afterlife for peace. In 2007, Metchislaw passed, and Barbara enjoyed living in her ex-husbands home on the Tickfaw River in Killian, Louisiana. Until one day when Barbara had apparently suffered a mild stroke, fell, and broke her hip. During her rehab and recovery, the State of Louisiana determined they would not allow Barbara to return to the River House and she was then transferred to Heritage Healthcare in Hammond, Louisiana. At Heritage, Barbara added spice to the daily life of the Staff with her quick wit and unique sense of humor. And, when Barbara passed, the Staff huddled around me with kindness and compassion, anxious to tell me about their memorable moments with her over the years. Barbara will be laid to rest with her son, Michael William, at the Ponchatoula Cemetery, adjacent to Metchislaw Holak and his parents, Anton and Milita Holak (Kowalski). Barbara is survived by her son, James Anthony Holak who resides in California with his wife, Betsy Dianne (White) and their only child, Mitchell James Holak. Family request donations be made to The First Baptist Church of Independence, 548 W 5th St, Independence, LA 70443
