Paly High Class of '56
1956 ~ 2016
Brian WILLIAMS
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I was aware, thanks to Lorna Hopper Affleck's emails, that Holden was not well, but I was not expecting this sorrowful news. He was truly a fine man, with a great sense of humor, whom I knew for probably 75 years, ever since we were in nursery school or kindergarten at Menlo Park's Peninsula School. We then moved up through the grades at Peninsula, followed by Jordan Junior High (now Frank S. Green Jr. Middle School) and then Paly.
Holden's parents and my parents were friends, and on more than one occasion we visited the Brinks at their summer cabin in Meyers near Lake Tahoe, where we met once or twice since. A few years ago, Holden gave me and another friend a tour of the wetlands preserve that he managed south of Sacramento, then we went for lunch to Al the Wop’s restaurant/bar in Locke, that magnificent Chinese settlement near Elk Grove. His interest in wildlife reminded me of what he was like as a little boy at Peninsula School, catching insects in a mayonnaise jar. The last time I saw Holden was at our last Paly reunion, where he was the official photographer—a task he managed to do even though he was not well. Prior to that, I enjoyed our get-togethers that Lorna arranged in Menlo Park.
Holden, you were a great friend and classmate, and your life was marked by important contributions and strong bonds. I will miss you mightily.
Brian