Jeff and Nancy Holt of Mechanic Falls have had a rough two years, but they remain upbeat about the future.
By Emily Tuttle
Special to the Sun Journal

MECHANIC FALLS – Building a house for his family was a realistic goal when Jeff Holt started two years ago, even though he didn’t have money for a contractor.

Good with his hands, Jeff thought he could build the house in his spare time.

That was before the couple adopted two foster children, his father died, his mother became terminally ill, and his wife, Nancy, got breast cancer.

Despite all that, the Holts remain upbeat. They can even laugh about their ordeals.

“With both gone, maybe I can get a matching set,” teased Nancy, referring to her double mastectomy.

“You can laugh or cry, and this family has chosen to laugh,” said Mary Beth Caffey, pastor of Pathway Community Church in Sabattus. “It has really been a privilege to be able to get to know them.”

Caffey got to know the family by taking them an occasional meal while Nancy went through chemotherapy. “They’re as honest and good as the day is long,” she said.

Out of time

Jeff Holt is proud of having completed 75 percent of the house despite all of the family crises, but he wished he had gotten the septic system in place before winter and had made arrangements for snow plowing.

He won’t be around to take care of things. A new opportunity at Tambrands Inc. meant that Jeff had to leave last week for Cincinnati on a six-month assignment. He left behind his recovering family, an unfinished house and a flooded basement.

“I just ran out of time,” Jeff said. “But I’ll still get to come home every two weeks,” Jeff said.

The family of six will have to make do another winter in his mother’s house with a converted porch and laundry room for bedrooms.

Besides running out of time, the Holts have run out of money. Jeff has worked 12-hour shifts on the plant floor. He also has worked overtime and has taken on odd jobs to bring in more money.

“For two years, he’s been going every day straight without any rest,” Nancy said.

Jeff admitted that through the adoptions, he felt stressed. Through Nancy’s chemotherapy, he felt scared. Now, he just feels tired.

“I’m 32, but I feel like I’m about 70,” Jeff said with a self-deprecating laugh.

‘Whammo!’

Anna Cyr of Sabattus met the Holts when the two families’ children were in “The Sound of Music” at Community Little Theater. That was two years ago, and the Holts had everything going for them.

“They seemed like they were in heaven,” said Cyr. “Then, whammo! The rug just gets pulled out from under them.”

Nancy and Jeff hadn’t foreseen such hard times when they married in 1995 and had their own place in Lewiston and two incomes. Nancy had a 2-year-old son, Michael, from a previous marriage, but the couple knew they wanted more children.

“I never dreamed about being a doctor or anything like that,” said Nancy. “All I ever wanted was to have a family.”

After several tests and unsuccessful attempts to conceive, the Holts became foster parents. When they adopted 8-month-old Samantha in 2000, the future seemed bright for the Holts.

But then Jeff’s dad died in 2001 of lung cancer. His mother was diagnosed with a lung disease and couldn’t be left alone. So the Holts moved with Michael and Samantha to take care of Jeff’s mother.

Just when Nancy and Jeff thought the hard times were over and they were about to adopt a second child, Nancy discovered a lump in her breast. She was diagnosed in 2001 with cancer. Nancy said that all she could focus on was going through with the adoption of baby Anthony.

“When we were supposed to meet the judge for Anthony, she showed up in court wearing her coat around her drainage tubes,” said Jeff.

Nancy later went back to work to bring in a second income. But the spreading cancer and continued treatment put her out of commission again.

Her faith in God and focus on family has helped her keep a positive attitude. She also credits her son Michael, now 10, for always doing what she has asked of him.

According to Pastor Caffey, the family is about $10,000 short of finishing their house. Despite insurance, co-payments for treatments and prescriptions have put the Holts in precarious finances.

“They’re just a regular family and a reminder that this could happen to any of us,” said Caffey.

Copy the Story Link