Holly Jane Mora March 27, 1948-December 6, 2024
Holly J. Mora of Enola, PA passed away in Little River, SC on Friday, December 6, 2024. She was the daughter of the late Marguerite Eckrod and Hollis Eckrod. She graduated from East Pennsboro High School. Holly was devoted to her husband, son, and extended family and loved spending time together. “Miss Holly’, as her dance students knew her, was profoundly dedicated to the art of dance and the dance community. She founded the Capital Area Dance School and was the Founding Director of Cumberland Dance Company. Miss Holly’s contributions to arts education in Pennsylvania have been recognized by The Pennsylvania Alliance for Arts Education and by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and Department of Education. She was also faculty at Harrisburg Area Community College and the prestigious Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. Surviving her is her husband Edwin Mora, her loving son, Tim Loutzenhiser (wife, Diana), and her grandson Benjamin. Holly is also survived by her stepdaughters Derinda Mora, Pamela Mora, Patricia Mora, and Brooke Lorwey-Mora, as well as three step-grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She also enjoyed her days of retirement in Little River boating and spending time with her friends and beloved cats, Mint and Julep. A public visitation and service will be held at Sullivan Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Enola, PA on Sunday, December 22, 2024 from 1PM to 3PM with services beginning at 3PM.
In Lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to:
Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University
Scholarship Fund
1 E. Mount Vernon Place
Baltimore, MD 21202
667-208-6500
Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach
409 Bay Steet
North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582
843-249-4948
18 comments on “Holly (Eckrod) Mora”
It’s been hard to find the right words. Miss Holly always had a way with words. As she would say, “Don’t think about it.” She wasn’t my first dance teacher but because of my 1st beloved dance teacher Miss Anita I found my way to Holly and Sherry’s to continue to Dance. Yes, she was tough with a big personality but I am most thankful & grateful for all the opportunities she always found & created for her dancers. Miss Holly had a unique skill for picking out strengths in people & a creativity of putting things together. She not only taught us technique & provided so many connections for learning the art of dance but also with all of our time, sweat, laughter & tears we learned dedication, perseverance, sacrifice, detail and the list goes on. Thank you. Thank you for giving me best friends, a second family in more ways than one & a community. Thank you for cultivating my love of tap, the opportunities to teach & starting that journey, to be a part of “A Littlest Nutcracker”, the 1st ballet that I fell in love with, that gave me chance to share the stage with my son & niece and for fostering my love of dance to continue for all of my life. A legacy with so many generations & families. Beyond dance, Our family is forever connected through my “Big Brother” Tim. There was band competitions, beach memories, my brothers helping together backstage, the love of boating and as well as some of their own shenanigan stories together. With your special way, you even talked Mom into being your boutique table lady for a few years. Rest in Peace Miss Holly but as you always signed “Keep Dancing” amongst the stars with Forry & Miss Anita. There will always be Miss Holly stories & Tights will always be “Underwear with legs.” 🩷🖤
I came to know “Miss Holly” by accompanying my wife to the adult ballet classes at Peabody Prep. Through my wife’s experiences and my own conversations with Miss Holly after class, I gradually came to understand that she was a remarkably talented ballet teacher. Miss Holly devoted her entire life to teaching the art of ballet, a passion she held so deeply. Her love for ballet was infectious, inspiring countless people—including someone like me, who came to appreciate and cherish ballet through her.
What I admired most about Miss Holly was her generosity in sharing her joy and passion with others. When I think of Miss Holly, her delightful sense of humor and boundless love for life immediately come to mind. She was a resilient and creative soul—a true lover of life who embraced every moment with enthusiasm and grace.
Miss Holly, hearing this heartbreaking news has left me with an immense sense of loss. I will miss you deeply, my dear friend.
I first met Miss Holly in the spring of 2018 at the Peabody Preparatory adult ballet class. As an older beginner, I benefited immensely from her patience, countless corrections, and constant encouragement. During the pandemic, Miss Holly generously gave up her precious weekend family time to teach me private ballet lessons online. Thanks to her dedicated and masterful instruction, my ballet technique improved significantly, my legs grew stronger, and I even developed beautiful ballerina muscle lines that impressed my ballet friends. They often heard me sing Miss Holly’s praises and envied me for having such an extraordinary teacher.
Miss Holly was not only a passionate and gifted ballet teacher, but her optimism, sense of humor, and pure love for ballet made every class joyful and full of positive energy— even when she was facing her own health challenges. Beyond the studio, Miss Holly was also a kind and loving friend. My husband and I always cherished the moments we spent helping her carry her bags and walking with her to the parking garage after class at Peabody.
We both loved her dearly and will miss her more than words can express. Miss Holly will forever hold a special place in our hearts. Rest in peace, Miss Holly, my dear teacher and friend.
Holly was a boating friend for many years and taught our granddaughter ballet. She was always kind and encouraging, and she will be missed.
Connie and Dan Ziegfeld.
We only knew Holly for a short time in SC. She was a wonderful neighbor and friend. We had tea parties and many adventures shopping and going out on the boat with Holly and Ed. She will be missed by all of her friends in Little River! May you rest in peace Holly!
Ms. Holly taught myself and my daughter at Peabody. As much as we loved having her as a teacher, we loved her as a beautiful, generous, attentive human. She extended that beyond the classroom. My daughter had wonderful life experiences and a lot of fun with Ms. Holly.
Miss Holly was my mentor. Without her, I would be nowhere. She gave everyone everything she had. I will be forever grateful that this beautiful soul touched my life. Rest in peace, dear Holly.
Holly created such a positive and encouraging learning environment at Peabody of The Johns Hopkins University.
She will be missed.
Rest in peace, dear Holly Mora. When I think of Holly, I think of her devotion to her students, her work ethic, and her sense of humor. Holly was an indomitable and resourceful person. She was a great lover of life. One of the things that I most appreciated about Holly was her desire to share her pleasures. Holly was a significant presence at Peabody Dance and a great teacher. She enhanced many people’s lives. I am grateful to have known her.
I met “Miss Holly” through my mother, who was then working at Peabody Prep in Towson. My Mom knew that I had loved ballet since I was five years old, and studied off and on all through my life and now missed it terribly. Then Holly entered my life and reawakened so much joy. I went on to study with Holly at Peabody, at The Moving Company, and then (like many of us) online during Covid. Holly even convinced me to invest in a portable barre. I tried other ballet teachers, but no one ever compared to Holly. Her “set barre” was masterful, and allowed us to really perfect our skills. I was just about to send you a Christmas card, Holly, when I received this incredibly sad news. I will truly miss you, Dear Friend!
Miss Holly was the reason I loved ballet as a little kid. She was the first teacher who was truly hard on me. I used to be scared of her, but I realized that she was hard on me because of how much she cared. Miss Holly was the reason I wanted to grow up to be a dancer. I’ve had many ballet teachers throughout my life but I have never had a teacher like her.
We are sadden to hear that our dear friend has passed away, we pray for her and may she rest in peace. Miss Holly was our daughter (Rosemary) one of her initial dance school pupil, and is very sadden to hear her passing. She’s carry on Miss Holly love for the art as a ballet teacher in Georgetown, KY. after many years of ballet dancing herself.
Holly was a gifted ballet teacher and friend. Fully devoted to her art and students for life, her love of ballet was her motivation for life. attending her classes as an adult ballet student totally changed my expectations from adult ballet class teachers. I had never seen any other teacher with so much passion for correcting adult student’s techniques. We became friends. Holly was a hard working individual who would teach long hours through late nights and then drive to her home in Pennsylvania. In winters, when the roads were icy she would sometimes come and stay in our house and we had a nice time together. As friends, we went to see several ballet and musical performances together. Few years back, Holly and Ed invited my husband and me to their boat for a weekend. We sailed to Annapolis and had a wonderful time staying overnight and dancing to some old dance music in the evening. My last contact with her was in October when I sent her a text wanting to hear how she was, and I received a long and warm voicemail, which I would save for ever.
I would miss Miss Holly while remembering her pure love for ballet, her training her students, and her enormous pride upon their success.
May She Rest in Peace!
Holly’s gift for teaching ballet and her ability to connect with students, friends and family touched and transformed many of us. I met Holly at The Moving Company while taking her ballet classes. Her ability to shape dancers was remarkable. Our relationship continued outside of the classroom. She would often take much need breaks from her busy teaching schedule to rest on my couch. I treasured our time together and our conversations about life and dance. Holly was a kind and loving person and the world is a better place because we shared this time on earth with her. My family and I loved her and will miss her. She will always be in my heart. Rest in peace, my dear friend.
I know Holly as originally my ballet teacher but she also became an avid supporter and a family friend through the years I knew her. She helped paved the way to the professional dancer I became and the ballet instructor that I am now. It was her studio that jump started my life as a dancer. She believed in my dreams and because of that belief and support, I pursued a ballet career. Thank you for not giving up on me! Rest in peace! I love you dearly!
Holly was my teacher in an older adult ballet class. Even though, most of us were ‘past it’, Holly still took the time to make corrections and offer encouragement. Her classes were fun too as she had a wonderful sense of humor. One day, she joined me at Pimlico Race Course and we had a blast. (She bet on a horse that had the same name as her grandson and won!) During Covid, she took the time to teach me a private lesson, on line, and it also gave us a chance to catch up. Our classes always had cats or dogs walking through which did not bother us in the least. She was gifted in so many ways but most of all, she was a wonderful person.
i have know Holly since she was born as our parents were close friends. we have lost touch in the past years but she has always been in my heart. i am so sorry to hear of her passing. my thoughts go out to her family. she will live in my heart until we meet again
Miss Holly was my dance teacher and surrogate “young mom” from age 5-18. Tim is the little brother I always wanted. I cannot explain the worlds she opened for me. From ballet class to Broadway shows, she showed me a life of possibilities and always treated me like part of the family. Rest in peace, Miss Holly, I love you dearly & thank you.