George W. Holland

George W. Holland was born July 7, 1917 and went to rest April 4. A memorial will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, April 15 at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 960 Second Avenue Southeast in Ephrata.

George was born in Randolph, Texas on July 7, 1917 to Bross (Jake) and Pearl Holland. His mother died of the Spanish flu in 1919 when George was 2 years old. He and his sister, LouRay, were raised by his aunt and uncle until they joined their father in Grand Junction, Colo. in the late 1920s.

George farmed with his father raising pinto beans, alfalfa and corn at the end of North Seventh Street in Grand Junction. Colo. He later worked at the marble quarry in Marble, Colo., he was among the crew that cut the slab for the National Monument in Washington DC. In 1937 he met and married Violet Lucki. Violet was his lifelong partner for 63 years until she passed on in 1999. They came to Kellogg, Idaho in 1940 where George worked in the mines during World War II. He was a hard rock miner working 5,000 feet underground in the lead, zinc, gold and silver mines. He worked with a drift crew driving tunnels off the main shaft. That kept him busy until 1945 when he went to Spangle and farmed for five years. It was in Spangle that George became one of Jehovah's Witnesses and was baptized in 1947.

In 1951 the family, now consisting of George Jr., born in 1938 and David, born in 1941, moved to Mabton. It was here that George and his brother-in-law, John Lucki started a trucking business. After a few years John sold his share to George who continued his trucking business while the boys went to school.

From the mid 1960s until 1979 George was a partner with his son David and later they were joined by George Jr. in a farming venture west of Moses Lake in the Black Sands. He often remarked that farming was his passion.

In later years, after retirement, George and Violet spent many years serving where the need was greater for Kingdom Publishers in the Midwest. While in Nebraska George worked for 8 years for the Department of Natural Resources monitoring deep irrigation wells.

George was well known wherever he went as being an advocate of God's Kingdom. He cherished his many friends throughout the community.

He was preceded in death by his wife Violet in 1999 and his son, George Jr. in 2005.

He is survived by his son David J. Holland and his wife Diane of Ephrata also his daughter-in-law Wilma Holland of Zillah.

Four grandchildren: George Michael Holland and wife Sandy of Sunnyside, Jeffrey Van Holland of Nampa, Idaho, Bross L. Holland and wife Carolyn of Ephrata and Desire A. Holland of Kenmore.

Five great-grandchildren; Justin Holland and wife Rochelle, Lindsey Stuart and husband Ben of Moses Lake; Brandon Holland of Moses Lake; Sydnee and Alexis Holland of Sunnyside.

And finally, two great-great-grandchildren: Jasmin Vela of Moses Lake, and Brodie Holland of Zillah.