Erin Napier is used to telling transformation stories — peeling back old wallpaper, restoring worn-out wood, and bringing forgotten homes back to life. But this time, the Home Town star is honoring the woman she believes helped transform an entire city long before the cameras ever rolled.
In a tender tribute shared days after the passing of Judi Holifield, a beloved Laurel, Mississippi, community leader and memorable Home Town homeowner, Erin didn’t talk about paint colors or floor plans. Instead, she spoke straight from the heart, calling Holifield the woman who “started all this” and saying she and her family were “so lucky” to have known her.
For fans who have watched Laurel’s comeback on HGTV, it’s a reminder that behind every “after” reveal is a network of people who believed in the town when it looked very different — and Judi Holifield was one of the first.
Erin’s Heartfelt Goodbye to Judi
Who Is Erin Napier?
Erin Napier, born August 30, 1985, in Mississippi, is a designer, artist, entrepreneur and TV personality best known as one half of the husband-and-wife team behind HGTV’s hit series Home Town.
She began her career in corporate graphic design after earning a degree in the field, eventually launching her own stationery company before turning her attention full-time to home design and historic preservation.
Alongside her husband, woodworker and craftsman Ben Napier, Erin stars in Home Town, the HGTV show that follows the couple as they restore historic houses in Laurel, Mississippi, for families looking to put down roots there. Since its premiere in 2016, the series has grown into one of HGTV’s signature hits and spawned spin-offs like Home Town Takeover and Home Town: Ben’s Workshop.
Off camera, the couple co-own Laurel Mercantile Co., champion small-town makers, and raise their two daughters in the very community they’ve helped bring back into the spotlight.
The Woman Erin Says “Started All This”
While millions of viewers now associate Laurel’s rebirth with Erin and Ben, the couple has always been quick to point to the people who came before them — and at the front of that list is Judi Holifield.
Holifield, a longtime music educator and community advocate, died on December 13, 2025, at age 71, surrounded by family, according to her obituary. Her loss hit Laurel hard. For many locals, she wasn’t just a familiar face at events or on Main Street — she was one of the driving forces behind the town’s second chance.
Before she ever appeared on Home Town, Holifield shaped generations as a music teacher. Later, from 2011 to 2020, she served as executive director of Laurel Main Street, an organization focused on building a “vibrant and sustainable” downtown district and drawing life back into shuttered storefronts.
But even that job title only hints at what she meant to the people around her. In a tribute, Laurel Main Street described her impact as stretching far beyond paperwork and projects — from former students who kept their love of music, to small business owners she pushed forward with a blend of empathy, tough love, and trademark wit.
Erin Napier Breaks Down Remembering the ‘Home Town’ Hero Who “Started All This”
How Judi Helped Laurel — and the Napiers — Find Their Way
Years before HGTV crews arrived, Erin and Ben were just a young couple in their twenties, fresh out of college, determined to move back home and help Laurel become the town they knew it could be. The reality, though, was stark: empty buildings, quiet streets, and not much evidence that a turnaround was on the way.
Erin has shared that she and Ben, along with a small circle of friends, were some of the only people living downtown at the time — joking that it was essentially them and the “feral cats,” trying to imagine what Laurel might look like if it came back to life.
That’s where Judi came in. She knew how to apply for grants, navigate red tape, and turn big dreams into actual projects. Erin has described her as a “force,” someone who understood the mechanics of revitalization when the younger crowd mainly brought energy, creativity, and hope.
Holifield herself once said Laurel was “personal” to her. She’d seen the town thriving decades earlier while working with local merchants, then watched storefronts go dark and efforts to save downtown falter. When she stepped into the Main Street role, there were reportedly dozens of empty buildings — so many that, at first, she joked she had time to nap in her office because there was simply nothing happening.
Slowly, that changed. As Judi worked on Main Street initiatives and the Napiers and their friends poured their energy into design, business, and community projects, Laurel began to shift. What had once felt like a long-shot dream became the backdrop of a national TV series about small-town renewal.
Erin’s Heartfelt Goodbye
News of Holifield’s passing prompted a wave of tributes, but Erin’s words stood out for fans who know how deeply she cares about Laurel’s story. Sharing a photo and message on social media just days after Judi’s death, Erin credited her friend as the one who “started all this” — acknowledging that the town’s renaissance, and even the show that made the Napiers famous, grew out of groundwork Judi helped lay years before.
Other local remembrances echoed that gratitude. Laurel Main Street’s tribute highlighted Judi’s “open-porch policy,” her mix of encouragement and honesty, and the way she nudged others to pursue what they loved — even when they doubted themselves.
For Home Town viewers, the connection between Erin and Judi is also preserved on screen. Holifield appeared in season 3 when she purchased The Overstreet House for herself and her son, making her part of the show’s on-air history as well as its off-camera legacy.
A Legacy Written Into Laurel’s Streets
Today, Laurel is a destination — a place where fans travel to see familiar streets, shop at Laurel Mercantile, and maybe catch a glimpse of Ben and Erin filming another episode. But for those who live there, the charm is more than TV-ready scenery. It’s the result of years of work by people like Judi Holifield, who invested in students, small business owners, and neighbors long before national audiences were watching.
Holifield is survived by her children, including her son Allen, who still lives in Laurel, and by the countless people she encouraged along the way. Her legacy is visible not just in revitalized buildings or busy sidewalks, but in the confidence she gave others to love their town enough to fight for it.
By honoring Judi so publicly, Erin Napier is doing what she does best: telling the truth about the people who quietly change the world around them. For Home Town fans, it’s a powerful reminder that every makeover has a deeper story — and that sometimes, the biggest transformation isn’t a house at all, but a community brought back to life.
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