Memorial services for Garvin Dwayne Holman will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Bonham, Texas on Saturday, November 13 at 2:00 p.m. The family will receive friends in the sanctuary from 1:00 to 2:00 preceding the service.
Dwayne was born on October 1, 1943, in Honey Grove, Texas to Garvin Lee (Pete) and Aylene (Collard) Holman, the first of six children. He later graduated from Bonham High School and then obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in political science, which became his life’s passion. Dwayne served one term as President of the Texas Young Democrats and two terms as the National President of The Young Democrats where he became well known as a political operative among up and coming politicians across the country and where he made many lifelong friends. He then settled into teaching political science at Wharton County Junior College where his classes were known for being lively and informative. During this time, he spoke at the 1976 Democratic National Convention. He was then recruited to be the campaign manager for Mark White’s successful bid for, first, Attorney General and then, Governor of the state of Texas. As Mark’s campaign manager for attorney general in 1978, he pulled off one of the biggest come from behind victories in Texas political history, guiding White to a Democratic Primary victory in spite of trailing by 13 points in the polls 14 days before election day. After successfully running Mark’s gubernatorial race, he spent 4 years serving as Mark’s Special Assistant for Appointments, where, in perhaps his greatest achievement, he carried out the governor’s commitment to open up the hundreds of state boards and commissions to women and minority appointees on a scale unheard of, and unseen before, in all of Texas history. The final years of Dwayne’s career were spent conducting training sessions for County Commissioners and County Judges all across the state of Texas, for the Texas Association of Counties (TAC). There was a time when he could name every County Judge in the State. And he not only could tell where the county name came from for all 254 counties but at the same time, could tell you a colorful political story tied to every county-no kidding-every county including Loving County (pop. 64). Dwayne spent his early retirement years enjoying his book club, his infamous and beloved Downtowners Sunday School Class, and volunteering in his Church’s ESL program, all of which were near and dear to his heart. Everyone who knew Dwayne knew that he loved to laugh, he loved to read, and he loved to tell a good story. His dear friend, Joe, will tell you: Dwayne would never let the truth stand in the way of a good story! He had a wonderful gift in knowing how to make us laugh and put a smile on our faces. But his greatest gift was in reminding us that only God is perfect and we should all be more forgiving of our own faults and the faults of others. He was a good brother, a loyal friend, and a larger than life (literally and figuratively) uncle to his many nieces and nephews. A special thanks to the staff of Stonemere Rehab where he was provided caring and compassionate care for the last 5 years of his life.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Pete and Aylene Holman and his brother Phil Holman. He is survived by his brothers, Denny Holman and wife, Jan; and Mike Holman and wife, Sue; Sisters Lou Ann Warren and husband, Patrick and Lori Holman and wife, Susan, as well as many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.
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