Thomas Max Holder

Thomas Max Holder was born on June 5, 1933, to Edith R. (Loewen) and E. Thomas George, in Ellis County, Oklahoma. Edith and Thomas divorced shortly after Max's birth, and Max grew up on his grandparents' farm in Higgins, Texas, learning how to ranch and plant crops. Max helped raise various livestock and his beloved pet duck. Max was 6 years old when his mother remarried, and Max went by his stepfather's last name (Boughan). They continued to live on his grandparents' farm until they divorced a few years later. In 1946, Edith married Jackson S. Holder who adopted Max at the age of 14. At age 15, Max went to work part-time at the Bob Potts Congco Service Station in Borger, Texas. When he was 16 years old, the family moved to Benicia, California, where Max completed high school and worked part-time at Prince & Bento Shell Service Station. Max lived in 14 different places between 1939 and 1962 located in Higgins, Spearman, Wellington, Pampa, Borger, Amarillo and Wichita Falls, Texas; Fort Lewis, Washington; and Benicia, California. Max entered the Army in 1953 and was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, where he served during the Korean Conflict. While at Fort Lewis, he met a pretty, young lady named Carol Welsh who, as the story goes, wasn't impressed by Max, but she let him take her out. Max was persistent and married Carol on April 15, 1955. Max said once he married, he didn't plan on moving, but after he and Carol were married, they moved to Benicia California where Max joined the California National Guard and the American Legion Post 101 and went back to work at the Prince & Bento Shell Service Station while attending college classes at night to complete his Associates degree. In 1959, Max went to work as a federal employee at the U.S. Army Ordinance Benicia Arsenal. Here, Max worked on the Nike Hercules Ground Guidance Missile Systems. In 1962, Max completed the required background check and was chosen to work for the Bureau of Naval Weapons on the Naval base in Sunnyvale, California. Here he worked on the Polaris guided missile system. In 1963, Max and Carol moved to Vancouver, Washington, where Max went to work for the U.S. Department of the Interior at the Bonneville Power Administration Ross Complex as an Instrument/Measurement Craftsman. In 1966, their first child, Cindy, was born. In 1968, Carol gave birth to twin boys, Timothy and Thomas, who died at birth. In 1971, Melissa was born and completed their family. Max was very supportive of his girls' endeavors, mainly school and recreational sports, and attended games as often as he could. Max continued to work at the Bonneville Power Administration Ross Substation and was an instrumental part of the team that traveled to put up and maintain the wind instrument test sites from the Oregon Coast, up the Columbia River Gorge, in Eastern Washington and Oregon, and across Montana until he retired on June 1, 1991. After retiring, Max went back to work as a consultant on this ongoing project for several years. Max was preceded in death by his wife, Carol, in December 2020, his twin boys in 1968, and his parents. Max leaves behind his daughters, Cindy Thompson and Melissa Ropp; grandchildren Michael (Joselyn) Thompson, Benjamin (Jaylee) Thompson, Allison (Connor) Boynton, and Emiley Ropp. Max also leaves behind great-grandchildren Ryan, Avarie, Patrick, Oliva, Theo and Ava who thought the world of their "Papa".

Thomas Max Holder

June 5, 1933 - February 11, 2023