HENRY C. HOLLE

HOLLE HENRY CHARLES HOLLE (Age 90) On Tuesday, April 21, 2015, peacefully at home in Fredericksburg, VA. A noted architect, he helped shape the modern profile of the Washington, DC region with major buildings such as One Washington Circle, the Vista International Hotel, a number of K Street office buildings, and large-scale multi-family housing communities including The Watergate at Landmark, The Rotonda, Montebello, Porto Vecchio, Belvedere, Alta Vista, and Rossmoor at Leisure World. Of Austrian descent, he was born Heinz Karel Holešovsk??, on Sept. 7, 1924, in the city of Ostrava-V??tkovice, in the Moravian region of Czechoslovakia. He was the only child of Leopold Holešovsk?? and Herta Mannsbarth HolešovskÁ, who later shortened the name to Holle. At the age of 18, hoping to become a surgeon and to avoid conscription into the WWII German army, he began pre-med. studies at the University of T??bingen, Ger- many. While still a student, the navy - anxious for staff with even the slightest medical training - pressed him into service over summer breaks. During that time, he survived the sinking of three ships by the Allied Powers. The German army conscripted him anyway, at age 20, for desperate final war efforts. He fought on the Western front at the "Battle of the Bulge" and eventually suffered grave injuries on the Eastern front. After the war, he studied journalism and philosophy in Heidelberg. Then, moved by the generosity of the United States' post-war reconstruction effort in Europe, he immigrated to the U.S. on the M.S. Italia and disembarked at Ellis Island (where he Anglicized his first and middle names) on Nov. 21, 1952. With only a few dollars in his pocket, he soon found employment as a draftsman and, despite a lack of formal training, worked his way up to Registered Architect. In 1962, he founded Henry Holle and Associates, which later became Holle & Graff Architects; Holle, Lin & Shogren, Architects; and finally Holle & Lin Architects, from which he retired in 2000. In addition to the Washington, DC area, he designed buildings in Florida, the Caribbean, and many other locales. He married Gail M. Akeroyd of Annapolis, MD on July 6, 1957. Both avid sailors, they spent many happy years sailing and traveling while raising their children. In retirement, he enjoyed spending time with family and dear friends amid the peacefulness of the beautiful home that he and Gail designed and built. He is survived by beloved wife, Gail; children, Michael Holle (Jane) and Samantha Babcock (Matthew); and grandchildren, Katharine Holle, Gabrielle Bouvier, Alexandra Bouvier, and William Babcock. A private interment is planned.He is survived by beloved wife, Gail; children, Michael Holle (Jane) and Samantha Babcock (Matthew); and grandchildren, Katharine Holle, Gabrielle Bouvier, Alexandra Bouvier, and William Babcock. A private interment is planned.