Eugene Holehan

Eugene "Lee" Holehan passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones on January 27, 2025. A native Arizonan, Lee was born in Phoenix on May 9, 1930. He graduated from Phoenix Union High School and went into the Marines in 1948. He served in the Korean War and was honorably discharged in 1952. He immediately entered Arizona State University where he majored in Business Education and was awarded a scholarship to run track all four years. After graduation, he became a Business Education Teacher at Yuma High School where he also coached track and cross country. He met his wife, Geneva Woodworth Holehan, and they married in 1959. After completing a master's in education at NAU in the summers, he eventually went back to ASU for a doctorate in Education. He was then hired by Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO where he taught until retirement.

After retirement, he lived in Okinawa, Japan for a year while his wife, Geneva, taught for the Department of Defense schools. They travelled all over Asia and the South Pacific during school holidays. For many years of their retirement, they rode bikes most days and did yearly bike vacations around the world. Lee was an adult Sunday School teacher for 50 years and involved with Habitat for Humanity. He was a member of Toastmasters, and he was a lay leader in his churches in Durango and Payson. Lee loved the outdoors and enjoyed camping and fishing from his boat or canoe, and his favorite pastime, fly fishing. He was happiest in the outdoors with his children and grandchildren, putting a worm on a hook or teaching how to cast.

Lee's family thought of him as a cat with nine lives. He survived two sniper attempts during the Korean War. He also survived major surgery twice for melanoma that entered his lymph nodes when he was 30 and again at 31. The doctors did not think he would live, but his church congregation prayed for him during his surgery, and he survived. He felt that God had protected him, and it was his pleasure to give back by spreading the word to others in his Sunday classes and beyond. He also lived his life eating healthy and staying active; he played intramural basketball, volleyball, and softball, and he skied into his 80s. His last week-long bicycle trip out of the country was at the age of 85.

Lee was preceded in death by his father, James Carpenter Holehan, his mother Wilma Elizabeth (Hettler) Holehan, and his brother, JC Holehan. Lee is survived by his wife of 65 years, Geneva; his children Patrick (Jamie) Holehan of Tucson, AZ, Melody Holehan-Kopas (Jay Kopas) of Anthem, AZ, and Kelly (Jully) Holehan of Chino, CA. He is also survived by nine grandchildren: Cameron Kopas, Sterling Holehan, Tyler Kopas, Austin Kopas, Dallas Kopas, Haley Holehan, Megan Holehan, Kelsey Holehan, and Ian Holehan. He also had three great grandchildren: Adalynn & Amellia Holehan and Theodore Kopas.

A Celebration of Life is scheduled for February 22, 2025, at 1:00 pm at the First United Methodist Church in Payson, AZ. Memorials can be made to dementia research.