L. Emmett Holt III

Cohasset, Mass. - L. Emmett "Bim" Holt III, 75, died Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005, at Massachusetts General Hospital after a long battle with leukemia. He was the former Assistant General Manager - Operations 1977-1981 and then Assistant General Manager - Public Affairs 1981-1984 for General Dynamics Electric Boat Division.

Upon graduation from Yale as an engineer in 1951, he started work at Electric Boat Company, later to become General Dynamics, in Groton during the very early stages of the design and construction of the first nuclear submarine, Nautilus. He was one of the early pioneers of the nuclear Navy. In 1964 he moved to Cohasset to oversee submarine construction at General Dynamics newly acquired shipyard in Quincy, Mass. In the 1970's Bim managed the design and engineering team in Quincy that built the Lykes Steamship Seabees, the largest dry cargo ships of their time, and then the largest liquid natural gas tankers ever built.

In 1977 he returned to Electric Boat as Assistant General Manager - Operations, responsible for all shipyard construction and testing of nuclear powered submarines. In 1981 he was appointed by the Secretary of the Navy to the Committee for the Joint Study of the Trident/SSN 688 Submarine Program reporting directly to the Secretary of the Navy. He retired in 1984 as Assistant General Manager - Public Affairs

Bim was devoted to his community in Cohasset and was a past member and chairman of the Advisory Committee, Government Study Committee, Harbor Study Committee, Historic District Commission, the Quincy City Hospital Building Advisory Committee, and as past commodore of the Cohasset Yacht Club. While living in Mystic and Stonington, Bim was a director at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, the Southeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Ram Island Yacht Club, past Rear Commodore of the Wadawanuck Yacht Club, and a long-standing member of the Cruising Club of America.

Boats were his passion, especially ones powered by sail. He had three Limbo's that the family cruised and raced extensively along the East Coast to Bermuda and into the Great Lakes. In retirement he picked up his hammer to build a summer house on Vinalhaven Island in Maine. Along with family and friends, he spent three summers as a carpenter, wall boarder, plumber, electrician, painter, and dock builder. He continued to refine his skills as a craftsman and built many fine pieces of furniture for his children. During the off season he and Lib enjoyed traveling, with trips to Africa, Turkey, Spain, Alaska, Portugal, the Baltics, Ireland, and France

First diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in 2002, Bim was fortunate to achieve remission for two years, thanks to the devoted and talented health care team at Mass General Hospital. Last year he and his wife Lib bought a boat, named her Denial and enjoyed cruising "in Denial" all the way from Pensacola, Fla. to Vinalhaven, Maine.

He is survived by Elizabeth "Lib" (Alcorn) Holt, his wife of 50 years; son, E. Emmett Holt IV and his wife, Gwen of Hamilton, Mass.; daughters, Louisa Boatwright and her husband Bill of Newport, R.I., and Carrie Scholtz and her husband Chris of Skaneateles, N.Y.; and grandchildren, Cordelia and Calvert Holt, Chelsea Scholz, and Victoria Boatwright.

Instead of flowers, gifts in his memory may be made to Massachusetts General Hospital - Ellison 14, c/o MGH Development Office, 100 Charles River Plaza, Suite 600, Boston MA 02114. With special appreciation for the generous gifts of all the unknown blood and platelet donors who helped sustain and prolong his life, our family encourages all who are able to donate blood products for the sake of others.

A memorial service will be held at the Second Congregational Church on the Common in Cohasset, Mass., at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb, 8, 2005. Burial will be at Brown's Head Cemetery, Vinalhaven, Maine, this summer.

Arrangements were made with the McNamara-Sparrell Funeral Home, 1 Summer St., Cohasset MA 02025.