Alfred Ray Holland

Alfred Ray Holland of Weiser Idaho passed away on Monday, August 20th 2018 in a local care facility. He was 91. “Ray” was born on August 24th, 1926 in Beech Arkansas. His father Johnny Holland was a laborer, and mother Nettie Jane was homemaker. Ray grew up in the area around Texarkana Arkansas and attended school in Centrahoma Oklahoma. He loved to play and hunt in the woods and would spend hours fishing, which became a life-long passion. After serving his country as a member of the US Army in occupied Germany following WWII, Ray returned from his service to the Pacific Northwest, to which his family had relocated during his absence. It was there that he met his soulmate in Adaline Ida Leech, or “Peggy” as she was known. They married soon after in 1948 and over the next eight years welcomed four sons. In 1956, Ray moved the family to the Los Angeles area where he was employed by Hughes Aircraft Company as an industrial painter until his retirement in 1982. During this time, the family welcomed two daughters and an assortment of pets. Ray had little free time, but each year he took his family on vacations to visit distant family and to various places across the US and Canada. Following his retirement, Ray and Peggy moved to Chiloquin Oregon where they lived peacefully and happily until Peggy’s death in 1989. After that, Ray worked for the US Forest Service for a few years until relocating to Huntington Oregon to be near his sister Martha Plymate. He spent his remaining years as a resident of Weiser Idaho. Ray is survived by his children Michael (Katy) of Reno Nevada, Stephen (Sonja) of Burbank California, Jeffery (Lisa) of Payette Idaho, and Peggy (Fred) Oberding of Paradise Utah, and by his sister Martha Plymate of Huntington Oregon. He has 10 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren plus another on the way. He leaves behind a large extended family. Ray is predeceased by his wife Peggy, son Laurence, and daughter Mari Jane, and by his siblings Hubert Hemenway, Eutilla Vann, and Marquita “Elaine” Gaylord. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Tuesday, August 28th at 11:00 a.m. at the Church of Christ in Fruitland, ID. Ray and Peggy’s final resting place will be at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in Eagle, Idaho. Arrangements under the direction of Thomason Funeral Home.