Holshouser was appointed to the National Council on Economic Opportunity by U.S. president Gerald Ford and headed the state's Commission on Citizen Participation.
[1] After marrying, she resumed her education and enrolled at Appalachian State University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in home economics degree.
[2] Following retirement from public life, she studied at Wake Technical Institute and earned a master's degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
[1] After obtaining her nursing degree from the University of North Carolina, she worked as a registered nurse at Moore Memorial Hospital in Southern Pines, North Carolina for several years before working at Sandhills Hospice in Moore County and as a patient care coordinator for a hospice in Scotland County.
[3] Holshouser became familiar with city and state government while her husband served four terms in the North Carolina General Assembly in Raleigh.
[2] As a member of the board of directors for the Pines of Carolina Council of the Girl Scouts of the USA, she helped plan their bicentennial events.
[2] Girl Scouts from each of North Carolina's one hundred counties created squares for a quilt and presented it to Holshouser at the executive mansion.
[1] Holshouser decorated a Christmas tree in the executive mansion's ballroom with handmade ornaments made by students from North Carolina School for the Deaf.
[2] Upon moving into the North Carolina Executive Mansion in 1973, Holshouser wanted to ensure that her daughter received a normal upbringing, teaching her how to sew, cook, and make ceramic art.