Happy birthday, Stephen!

Our third child turned 18 today - woohoo! He's done well in school but is ready to graduate and move on to the future. He's making us proud parents!

My father died

After a 3 year battle with lung cancer and the chemotherapy used to treat it my father, Henry W. Holly Jr., passed away.  Here's his obituary:

Henry W. Holly Jr. of Moss Bluff, son of Henry Woodrow Holly and Mattie Irl Holly, died at age 78 on April 8, 2017.  Growing up Henry worked in the orange groves over the summers and graduated from East Marion High School in 1956 then entered the Air Force.  During his 20 year military career Henry served in New Mexico, Washington DC, Florida, Taiwan, Hawaii, and Texas with temporary duty assignments in Vietnam.  After retiring from the military he earned an Associates Degree at Central Florida Community College in 1979.  Henry then had a 17-year administrative career with the Ocala Police Department. 

Henry was a fifth-generation son of Marion County and contributed to the community over the years as the LWHS Band Booster President, President of the South Marion Democrats Club, Treasurer and Committee Chair for Weirsdale's Boy Scout Troop 113 (Silver Beaver), member of the Ocklawaha chapter of Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), the American Legion Post 284, member of the Masonic Lodge 95 in Belleview, and a member of Weirsdale Presbyterian Church.  Henry is survived by his wife of 55 years Mary Holly, sons David (Susan) and Michael (Claudia), sister Betty Ann Penuel, and seven grandchildren (Jacob, Megan, Stephen, Kevin, Austin, Nicholas, and Benjamin). Henry will be remembered by family and friends as a kind, loving, and generous man that positively impacted many, many lives.

Dad passed away

My father, Henry W. Holly Jr., passed away last night after a 3 year struggle with lung cancer.  He passed out overnight and needed help to get into the van to go to the hospital.  He spent the evening in the ER and died shortly after midnight. 

My brother and his family were in Orlando for Spring Break so they were able to get there and be with him and my mother.  Sue was in the area, and I made my way down from Augusta to be with my family. 

I am going to spend the week with my mother and help her work through all the things that have to be taken care of  when someone dies.  The funeral will probably be this coming Saturday, the day before Easter.  Here's the obituary we will be running:

Henry W. Holly Jr. of Moss Bluff, son of Henry Woodrow Holly and Mattie Irl Holly, died at age 78 on April 8, 2017.  Growing up Henry worked in the orange groves over the summers and graduated from East Marion High School in 1956 then entered the Air Force.  During his 20 year military career Henry served in New Mexico, Washington DC, Florida, Taiwan, Hawaii, and Texas with temporary duty assignments in Vietnam.  After retiring from the military he earned an Associates Degree at Central Florida Community College in 1979.  Henry then had a 17-year administrative career with the Ocala Police Department. 

Henry was a fifth-generation son of Marion County and contributed to the community over the years as the LWHS Band Booster President, President of the South Marion Democrats Club, Treasurer and Committee Chair for Weirsdale's Boy Scout Troop 113 (Silver Beaver), member of the Belleview chapter of Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), the American Legion Post 284, member of the Masonic Lodge 95 in Belleview, and a member of Weirsdale Presbyterian Church.  Henry is survived by his wife of 55 years Mary Holly, sons David (Susan) and Michael (Claudia), sister Betty Ann Penuel, and seven grandchildren (Jacob, Megan, Stephen, Kevin, Austin, Nicholas, and Benjamin). Henry will be remembered by family and friends as a kind, loving, and generous man that positively impacted many, many lives. 

Megan is engaged!

Her boyfriend Booker asked her to marry him is a romantic candle-lit way during her trip to Pennsylvania over the holidays.  They are very excited but no details have been decided on yet.  Go, Megan!

Good time at Court of Honor

I enjoyed going to the troop's Court of Honor/Christmas party with the boys tonight.  Kevin earned his Backpacking merit badge and Stephen earned his Emergency Preparedness merit badge.  Both are pursuing their Eagle rank. 

New addition to the family

We have been thinking about getting a dog for a while but wasn't sure what we wanted.  Earlier this year we dog-sat Mickey for some friends and really enjoyed him.  Our friends have 3 small children and a couple of bigger dogs and decided to reduce their workload by getting rid of Mickey so they offered him to us!

Sue is very excited,  as is Kevin.  Stephen and I are OK and Mickey is growing on us.  He's a lot of fun but also very chill.  Welcome,  Mickey!

Having fun this season

We're looking forward to an action-packed holiday season, with the kids coming home for Thanksgiving and doing some fun stuff leading up to Christmas.  Hope you're doing well and celebrating the birth of our Savior in a big way!