Dedication was the trait friends and colleagues described in former Blacksburg Councilwoman Mary Holliman, who died Friday. She was 80.

"She loved Blacksburg," said Mayor Ron Rordam. Holliman was appointed to fill Rordam's vacant council seat when he became mayor in 2006.

"She loved the people of Blacksburg and always wanted to do what she could to make the community better," he said.

Holliman spent 48 years of her life in the town, having relocated in 1962 after completing English degrees at Howard College in Alabama and the University of Miami, then teaching the subject at Florida State University. She owned Pocahontas Press, a publishing company she founded in 1984.

Before becoming a councilwoman, Holliman was on the planning commission, and she was serving at the time of her death. She had been an active member until very recently, when she missed the last meeting because of being hospitalized, Planning Director Anne McClung said.

"We were so sorry to hear of Mary's passing. She's been a really valuable addition to the planning commission," McClung said.

McCoy Funeral Home didn't have a cause of death Friday, but Holliman's long-time friend Gavin Faulkner said in an e-mail that she was hospitalized for heart problems.

In addition to a close 20-year friendship, Faulkner said the two served together in the Mount Tabor Ruritan Club and other projects. He described Holliman as "someone who loved life," enjoyed traveling, had a flair for photography and enjoyed the theater. Holliman was a devoted public servant who always had the town's interests at heart, Faulkner said,

"She always had her own views on what should happen in Blacksburg. ... If something needed doing she'd do it," he said.

Blacksburg High School now has a stadium thanks in part to Holliman, as she cast the swing vote in the 2006 rezoning request that allowed its construction. Rordam said Holliman was also an integral part in pushing for the change in time frame for Blacksburg elections from May to November. She was also among a group of residents who traveled to Nicaragua last year to help resurrect the town's sister-city relationship with flood-ravaged San Jose de Bocay.

Rordam said these types of contributions speak for themselves, and Holliman's death is a great loss for the town.

"She loved Blacksburg so much, and it always showed in her actions," he said.

Funeral service information was not available Friday.