LAWRENCE HOLT

Lawrence Galles Holt   "Larry" (Age 87)  
Of Silver Spring (formerly of Bethesda), MD passed away peacefully after a short illness on November 30, 2017. Larry was born in Saarau, Germany (currently Zarow, Poland) to Eva and William, who were both physicians. Larry's family emigrated to the US in 1939, one month before Hitler's invasion of Poland. While his parents underwent required medical re-training of immigrant physicians, Larry lived with several wonderful foster families, including the Purinton family in Beloit, WI, with whom he remained close throughout his life. After rejoining his parents and older brother John Garrett in Yorktown, NY and graduating from Yorktown high school, he attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY. This was followed by service in the Navy, where he learned to fly helicopters and fighter jets. He obtained an MBA at Columbia University and then worked in the fields of engineering, systems analysis and management, for Dunlap and Associates, M.B. Electronics, the Center for Naval Analyses and, for 37 years, the United States Postal Service, where he made significant contributions to the automation of mail delivery. His efforts there drove suppliers to build hardware and software systems that greatly reduced the processing cost to sort the mail. Larry married Helen Keil (1939-2016) in 1958, and they had two daughters, Daphne and Leslie. In his free time, Larry was passionate about motorcycles, bicycling, running, tennis, camping, mountain climbing, classical music and photography. He was also a history buff with a lifelong interest in national and international politics. Most importantly, he will always be remembered as a loyal and loving husband (married for 58 years), father and grandfather. Family, friends, co-workers and neighbors knew Larry to be generous and good-natured, with a great sense of humor. He is survived by his two daughters, granddaughter, Meti Holt, nephews, Lloyd Holt, Rolf Holt, and Eric Holt-Gimenez, sister-in-law, Thelma Holt and daughter-in-law, Amy Smoucha; son-in-law, Roger Tootell. A memorial service will be held on December 16, 2017, at 2 p.m. at the Chapel at Riderwood Village at 3140 Gracefield Road, Silver Spring, MD, 20904. Donations in his memory can be made to Rails to Trails Conservancy, Planned Parenthood or the Public Broadcasting System.