Grant Wilson (Red) Holly

Grant Wilson Holly affectionately known as “Red”, of Holland, PA died peacefully on Tuesday, August 5th at Twining Village Health Care. He was 91.

Red was the beloved husband and childhood sweetheart of the late Marjorie (Midge) Innes Holly and the grandfather of the late Alexander Holly.

After their first day together in the fourth grade, Marjorie came home and told her mother “There was a new boy in school today. His name is Grant, and someday I’m going to marry him.” That day came on the 7th of May, 1943, and the two had been married for 66 years at the time of Marjorie’s death in 2007.

Born in Staten Island, New York, Grant was the only child of the late Grant Brooker and Elynor Wilson Holly. He attended Curtis high school, and spent two memorable years at Hamilton College in Clinton New York. WWII had begun, so Grant left Hamilton and shortly after his marriage, joined the Army, where he served in the Pacific theater in the Philippines and Japan.

Upon his return, under the G.I. Bill, he enrolled at Wagner College where he would earn a Bachelor of Science degree. After Wagner, he had a number of jobs. He taught biology at New York University, he was an estimator at Todd Shipyard, he and Midge with Grant’s cousin Shirley and her husband Doug Brown started the Holly Brown Ranch Camp in Duchess County, New York. In 1951 Grant took the job that became his career, a salesman with the pharmaceutical company, Merck. He retired from Merck as the eastern regional sales manager, in charge of salespersons from Maine to Florida and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi river. After retiring, Red and Midge went to work part time with Princeton Community Phone Book.

In his leisure, Grant enjoyed reading works on religion and philosophy and subscribed for years to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. He was a man who valued family greatly and for that he will be sorely missed as a loving and devoted father, grandfather, and great grandfather.

Grant is survived by his loving children Grant Innes Holly and his partner Susan Wertman of Geneva, NY, Charles Warren Holly and his wife Penny of Oakford, PA, his 2 grandchildren Lauren and Nick Holly and 3 great grandchildren: Alexander, George and Henry Greco.

Services, and a celebration of Grant’s life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the “A” Fund for Architectural studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 615 South Main St. Geneva, NY 14456 in honor of his deceased grandson Alexander.