William Holling

William J Holling (81) past away peacefully on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, at his home in Fort Myers, Florida.

Bill was born on July 7, 1944 to William H and Lydia Holling; in Bridgeport, CT. Bill had one younger brother, Roger B. Holling. The family moved to Fairfield, CT where Bill graduated from Andrew Warde High School in 1962. Bill played baseball and was an outfielder for the AWHS Eagles Varsity Baseball team. In 1964, Bill graduated from Norwalk State Technical Institute in Norwalk, CT with the degree: Associate in Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering Technology. From 1964-68, Bill served in the United States Air Force. In 1968, Sergeant William J Holling received a Master Instructor Certificate and awarded the rating of Master Instructor in Airplane Repair.

Bill attended night school at the University of Hartford in Hartford, CT. He was named to the Dean's List in the spring of 1977. During the day, Bill worked for CE Power Systems in Windsor, CT and in 1978 he was promoted to Nuclear Engineer II and given a salary of $338 dollars per week. In 1979, Bill received a Certificate in Environmental Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hartford. Bill had a 40 plus year career as a Nuclear Engineer, Mechanical Engineer and a Quality Assurance Engineer. He worked for Combustion Engineering, ABB and Westinghouse in both Windsor, CT and Berlin, Germany.

While serving the USAF in Amarillo, TX., Bill met his wife to be Elizabeth Ann Phillips and they were wed on June 15, 1968. In 1971 while living in Norwalk, CT their son Christopher was born. In 1974 they moved to Simsbury, CT where they lived for 44 years before moving to Fort Myers, FL in 2018. Together they played golf, bocce, and bowling. They took many vacations together, traveling the USA, England, France, Germany, Greece, and Italy. They were also annual attendees of the Hartford Stage and the Hartford Theater Works. They were married 54 years.

In the 1980's and '90's, "Mr. Bill" was a very active volunteer in youth sports. He was a YMCA basketball coach, an indoor soccer coach and baseball mentor. He served as President of the Simsbury Soccer Club and Treasurer of the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association, North Central District.

In 1995 Bill started playing competitive baseball again when his wife Elizabeth bought him a trip to the Red Sox Fantasy Camp. From '95-'99 he enjoyed being part of the Red Sox Fantasy Camps in Fort Myers, FL. From there he went on to play 28 years in Bob Wagner's Wooden Bat Classic. He played just as many years in the Roy Hobbs Baseball in Florida, the MSBL World Series in Arizona and the Legends of Baseball in Cooperstown, NY. Over those years he played for many different teams, had many different teammates, and won many team championships and individual awards. Some of his many awards include: 2nd Place, CJSA State Indoor Tournament, under 19 boys head coach, 1988. Sportsman of the Year, Simsbury Lions Golf League 1989. GAME MVP, Red Sox Fantasy Camp 1995. MOST VALUABLE PLAYER, Red Sox Fantasy Camp, 1999. HOLE-IN-ONE, Hole #9 at Simsbury Farms GC, 2000. CONSOLATION CHAMPIONS, Legends of Baseball, 2006. GOLD GLOVE award, SWFL SPRING FLING 2015. He was probably most proud of his many MSBL World Series Championship teams and his senior baseball world series championship rings. He would wear these WS rings often in public and almost always someone would notice and ask him about it and he loved to tell them the story behind how his teams won these WS rings.

Bill (along with his wife and son) was a big supporter of the Simsbury Trojans High School athletics, the University of Hartford Hawks Basketball teams and the University of Connecticut Huskies basketball, football and soccer teams. He and his family attended many of those teams games live, including six UCONN Football Bowl Games in Alabama, Arizona, Detroit Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Toronto Canada. These are in addition to the countless number of Boston Red Sox games he attended at Fenway Park, Boston, MA; his favorite team.

Bill was predeceased by his wife Elizabeth P. Holling in 2022 and his younger brother Roger B. Holling in 2024.

Bill is survived by his son Christopher Holling, his niece Tanya Holling Rosario and her husband and their children.

Services will be held on Tuesday, November 25, 2025.

Harvey-Engelhardt Funeral Home, 1600 Colonial Blvd., Ft. Myers, FL 33907.

Visitation: 9:30am-11:30am and Memorial Service 11:30-12:30.

A luncheon will follow at 1:00pm at the Cross Creek Country Club, 13050 Cross Creek Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33912.