Holli Buchter

Holli Buchter passed away in her South Carolina home on Monday, April 27th, 2026. Holli was born on February 6th, 1961, in Allentown, Pennsylvania to parents Samuel and Mildred (Shisler) Himmelberger. Holli grew up in Topton, Pennsylvania alongside her younger sister Heidi (Himmelberger) Walker and family dogs Rousseau and Gorki.

As a child and young adult, Holli loved reading and would immerse herself in all different kinds of books but loved historical fiction. She graduated from Brandywine Heights High School in 1979.

Holli attended Shippensburg State University where she accomplished her Bachelor of Arts in English. After moving to Colorado in 1999, Holli started working in the library at Mead Middle School where she was influenced to further her education. She completed her Master of Library Sciences and became the district librarian for the St. Vrain Valley School District overseeing 45 school libraries for 13 of her 17 total years working for the school district.

During her time at St. Vrain, Holli researched and spent over 500 hours implementing the bookstore model in the school libraries as a means of encouraging and empowering students to read more. Holli was also able to participate in the Summer Institute with the Library of Congress.

In 2019, Holli retired from the St. Vrain school district in pursuit of following her dream of living at the beach. Holli bought a house just 10 minutes away from the beach and would make stopping to spend time at the ocean part of her routine. The beach was truly her happy place, and she took advantage of every second.

Holli is preceded in death by her father Samuel Himmelberger, and she is survived by her mother Mildred (Schisler) Himmelberger, sister Heidi (Himmelberger) Walker, children Matthew and Kristen Buchter (and her spouse Kyle O’Neill), nephews Zachary Buchter and Zack Walker, and niece Mackenzie Buchter. Celebrations of life are being planned in Colorado and in Pennsylvania where details are still to be determined.

Holli was a member at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church while in Colorado and at The Shepherd of the Sea Lutheran Church while in South Carolina.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Holli’s name to The Shepherd of the Sea church or the Reach Out and Read organization that partners with pediatric care providers to promote early literacy during checkups. https://www.shepherdofthesea.com/donate or https://reachoutandread.org/

To view these details online or to offer words of comfort through the online guestbook, please visit www.burroughsfh.com

Burroughs Funeral Home and Cremation Service (843.651.1440) of Murrells Inlet is assisting the family with arrangements.