Ashlea Varnado Spain died July 4, 2015 in Port Arthur, Texas of pulmonary fibrosis.
She was born September 4, 1954 at St. Mary’s hospital to Frederick and Pat Varnado of Nederland. Ashlea graduated from the Colombia School of Broadcasting in Memphis, TN and was the first female radio personality at KOLE in the early 1970’s. Her radio name was Michelle. She moved to Tennessee and was married and had three children.
She worked for the Tennessee Republican Newspaper in West Tennessee.
She is preceded in death by her sister, Susan Varnado Farmacka, her husband, Cecil Spain and her father Frederick L. Varnado.
Ashlea is survived by her mother, Pat Varnado of Nederland, Texas; sister, Kimberly Francom and husband Allen of Austin, Texas; sons, Michael Holloway, Jr. from Milan, Tennessee, Jeffery Lale Holloway of Jackson, Tennessee; daughter, Michelle Robinson of Atwood, Tennessee, a niece, Sandra Leal and husband Marco of Round Rock, Texas,  two nephews, Frederick Mitchell and Sean Mitchell of Austin and 4 grandchildren in Tennessee.
The family wants to thank Dr. Al-Nasser and the staff at Dubuis in St. Mary’s hospital for their compassion and kindness.
Memorial service will be held at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Port Neches at 2 PM on Friday, July 10, 2015.