Jasmine Sophia Holm
May 3, 1977-April 24, 2014
Sacramento, California
Jasmine Sophia Tayabas Holm died in Sacramento, California, on April 24. She had suffered a brain hemorrhage while running with her beloved dogs at a dog park near her home. Jasmine was 36.
Jasmine was a bright spirit with a kind and loving heart, and she truly had the best laugh on the planet. Her joy in life was infectious. She drew people to her with her friendliness, vulnerability and true zest for life. Everything was an event for her, frequently an event that required a special Jasmine note card stuffed with glitter.
Jasmine was born in San Francisco on May 3, 1977. She grew up in Palo Alto, attending Ohlone, Jane Lathrop Stanford and Palo Alto High schools, graduating with honors. While at Paly, Jasmine was a cheerleader and spent a summer working in Germany in order to perfect her newest language, German. Jasmine also volunteered at Webb Ranch, working with special needs children in a horse-riding therapy program. As the artistic director of a local day care center, she designed imaginative playground structures and games for preschoolers.
Jasmine had a degree in Classical Studies from the University of Washington in Seattle. She was especially proud of awards she won for her photography, a lifelong passion.
Jasmine loved camping -- especially in Big Sur, Yosemite?s Tuolumne Meadows and along the American River. Her first big camping trip included backpacking in the Trinity Alps in Northern California with her family. A natural athlete, she spent her free time this past winter joyously snowboarding at Lake Tahoe.
She also loved traveling. She took time off from college to live with her parents in France for several months, spending time in Paris and Berlin and various destinations in between. Her last semester in college was spent studying in Rome.
Her senior year in college, Jasmine met her future husband, Brian Holm. They traveled as much as possible. Their first trip was to Bali, and eventually they ended up living in Guam. They divorced in 2013 but remained close friends. Jasmine?s first stop after the divorce was Rome, of course, where she studied Italian for several months before returning to California. To her dismay, her Italian never caught up to her German and Spanish.
Jasmine?s jobs included managing restaurants, installation of art at galleries, project engineer at a major construction company, cheese buyer, and ?- her favorite ?- interior designer. She had a great eye for form and color and had an enviable collection of art and art books. Her extensive collection of fiction and non-fiction also was impressive.
Jasmine is survived by her parents, Cris Oppenheimer and Rainer Pitthan of Palo Alto; her sister Stefanie Pitthan of Arvada, Colorado; her niece Viola Garcia of Arvada, Colorado; her half-brother Jake Collison of Fairfax, California; and her ex-husband Brian Holm of Lanai City, Hawaii. Her survivors also include many aunts and uncles, especially Juanita Tayabas and Jerry Nerbovig of Sacramento; also Dean (Mary) Crist of Old Lyme, Connecticut; Don (Susan) Crist of Farmington, Connecticut; and Freya Pitthan-Bauer of Munich, Germany. She is also survived by many first cousins, including Jason (Karena) Deason of Vancouver, Washington; Bill (Cyndi) Crist of San Antonio, Texas; Allison (Justin) Richardell of Tucson, Arizona; and Anna Bauer of Ober Süßbach, Germany. Her family and many friends will miss her greatly.
