Glen D. Holt

1930 - 2018

Glen D. Holt
February 12, 2018 - December 19, 1930

It is with deep sadness to share that our beloved dad, Pops and friend, Glen D. Holt passed away on February 12, 2018. He was born December 19, 1930 in Missouri. As a young child he traveled with his parents and siblings from Missouri working in the fields and following the crops for a living; this took the family all over Arizona and California, living in labor camps or in tents. Because his family was constantly on the move he attended 13 different schools by the time he reached the 8th grade when they finally settled to live in Shafter, California.

Several years later he worked for the Shafter Police Department where he became a Sergeant. While on the force he taught pistol shooting and became an expert sharpshooter. He enjoyed telling the story about when a FBI agent came to Kern County from Washington for an instructive firings course. After he finished the 3 week course the agent wanted to shoot against him. Dad shot a 400 and the agent shot 398 (who admitted he had never been beaten before or shot a 400) so the agent wanted to try again and dad shot another 400, with that the agent said "I give up". Dad resigned from the Police Department to pursue his dream of owning, breeding and racing Standardbred race horses. It was during this time that he found his passion. From the mid 1960's to the 1970's he became one of the most successful harness horse drivers in the state of California starting out on the county fairs circuit, then on to Hollywood Park, Santa Anita, Bay Meadows, Los Alamitos and Cal Expo. He was highly respected by his peers in the Harness Horse business. He was the first trainer in California to have a swimming pool built for training horses and he was frequently sought out to train and race horses from stables across the country, Canada, France, New Zealand and Australia. He was a 3rd Degree Mason. He was a kind hearted and empathic man with great integrity that was forged in him from his childhood roots. It never was a surprise for his children to hear of his acts of kindness for someone who needed "a little help", whether it was buying someone airline tickets, repairing autos, paying bills or giving cash, he did this unconditionally. In 1950 he married Helen Rose from Shafter and together they raised 4 children. In 1986 he married Annette Funicello and was a faithful husband and caregiver to her until her passing in 2013. Together he found a new passion with forming the Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases. He faithfully continued his work to raise money for research along with the help of his good friend Dave Mason. He enjoyed telling jokes, his daily drives to the ranch as well as lunches and afternoon visits with his friends in Shafter. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him. He was predeceased by his parents Newton and Letha Holt, 5 sisters, 3 brothers, 1 grandson, 1 great grandson, ex-wife Helen Holt and wife Annette Funicello. He is survived by his sister Martha "Mott" Seidel Mauney, brothers James and Tommy Holt, his children, Michael (Linda) Holt, Debbie (Greg/Hippo) Hanson, Philip Holt and Sharla (Mike) Johnson, 12 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren and many godchildren and friends. There will be a celebration of his life, for details contact one of his children. The family requests memorial donations be made to the AFRFND at, https://connect.calfund.org/give/annettefunicello