Not many people get to celebrate their 90th birthday in their favorite place. Few can say their favorite place is the site of their employment for more than four decades.
Rose Ann Holocher’s special place is Columbus Bishop Ready High School.
A Silver Knight through and through, Holocher has been a familiar face at the high school for more than 40 years as an administrative assistant. She does not recall her exact hire date, but her connection to Bishop Ready began long before she joined the staff.
Holocher has fond memories watching Bishop Ready being built down the street from the home she shared with her husband and children. Years later, when her daughters Tammy and Christine reached high school, she was eager to send them to Ready. After her daughters graduated, Holocher began a career at the school she had watched grow from its earliest days.
The story did not end.
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Holocher later shared the halls of Bishop Ready with her grandchildren as they attended the school. Today, she continues to share her beloved workplace with her daughter, Tammy, a proud member of the Bishop Ready staff.
Throughout the years, Holocher has become beloved by generations of students, families, faculty and staff. Bishop Ready is more than her job; it is her family. She often jokes that she would not know what to do if she fully retired.
Her love for Bishop Ready extends well beyond the front office and into the stands of the Joe Lang Gymnasium, where she can be found cheering on the Silver Knights.
Season after season, Holocher has made her way to the top row of the bleachers to support Ready athletics. Her dedication to the Knights – and her preferred seat – became such a well-known part of the Bishop Ready community that the high school made it official. In the fall of 2024, the school dedicated Holocher’s preferred seat in her honor.
She could be described as an important pillar of the school community. The Knights did not let her milestone birthday go unrecognized.
The celebration began when Holocher arrived to find her office decorated with streamers, balloons and flowers. Later, the school joined in singing “Happy Birthday” as principal Matt Brickner concluded the morning announcements.
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The festivities continued at lunch. Cafeteria staff prepared one of Holocher’s favorite meals and a sweet treat for every student, faculty and staff member. Birthday hats, hand-drawn portraits, cards and cake helped make the day memorable.
A final surprise came at the end of the school day.
Students lined the hallway to give Holocher a celebratory clap-out as she left the building. It was a fitting tribute to a woman whose life has become intertwined with the history and heart of Bishop Ready High School.
For more than four decades as an employee – and even longer as a neighbor, parent, grandparent, fan and friend – Holocher continues to be loved and supported at Bishop Ready. As the school community celebrated her 90th birthday, it was no question where the “Queen of the Ready Castle” belongs: right at home.