Vernell Holte

1942 - 2025

Vernell Holte
July 14, 1942 - December 26, 2025
Vernell Leroy "Vern" Holte, 83, of Pacifica, CA, formerly of Tioga, ND, passed away on Friday, December 26, 2025, at Mills Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame, CA. His final days were spent with family and friends by his side.
Vernell was born to Ole and Eleanor (Herfindahl) Holte, on July 14, 1942, in Stanley, ND. He was Baptized and Confirmed in the Lutheran Faith. He attended school at the Westbank Township/Holte School, south of the Holte Farm, and at the Tioga High School in Tioga, ND. He graduated with the class of 1960 and stayed in touch, returning home for many class reunions. After graduating high school, Vern moved to California with his cousin Leon Rye, to attend college. He was with the California National Guard for six years, while playing college basketball and taking classes at El Camino College and San Jose State. He received his BA degree from San Jose, and proudly attended his graduation in 1965 with his family, who came from North Dakota for the special event.
Upon graduating from San Jose, Vern began working as the Community School Director for Sunnyvale; he later moved to Ventura where he found his "niche" working as the Director of Parks and Recreation, and where he met and married Maureen in 1981. The family moved to Provo, UT, where Vern served as Provo's Director of Parks and Recreation, and where he received a master's degree from BYU.
In 1988, after his marriage to Maureen ended, Vern moved to Pacific, CA, accepting the position of Director of Parks and Recreation with the city of Belmont. He put his heart and soul into their community for 17 years. He was loved, and known for his dedication, and was honored with numerous tributes for his positive impact on communities.
In Belmont, Vern was a proud recipient of the prestigious Toastmasters Club Achievement Award. He also received an award for working with the senior citizens of Belmont, and planning the Belmont Art & Wine Festival at Twin Pines Park every year. In a tribute from the community of Sunnyvale, they said "Vern was "their city's most enthusiastic, positive individual, who earned the respect of those who met him," and described him as "a bridge between generations and races, and between schools and communities." After his retirement in 2005, Vern continued attending Stanford Cardinal women's basketball games and music concerts and made trips to North Dakota.
Vern loved life and loved connecting with people. He had a way of turning every stranger he met into a great story and a future friend, and turning memories with family and friends into cherished collections.
Vern loved meeting new people and hearing about their lives. He could talk to you for hours and still want to talk more. He had the ability to connect with, understand, and positively influence young people, and he brought laughter and importance to the elderly.
He had many special friends throughout his life. His dearest friends were Ron and Karen Ouren, Gary and Sandy Dilland, Roger and Georgia Blestrud, and Leon and Carol Rye; his "second family," the Mellos of San Jose, were Ron and Janet Mello, and their four daughters (his adopted sisters), Natalie, Gerri, Debbie, and Carleen. Vern was their son, brother, and close friend; they spent many Thanksgivings and family gatherings together.
His special friends around the Bay area were Pacifica neighbors, Nelson, Winkie, JT, and Kristen Suen; they would sometimes stop by Vern's garage and join him in listening to his music collection; Katharine Jones, his friend of 37 years, who later in their friendship also became his dentist; Bay area Stanford friend, Nancy Tuck, who Vern watched games with for 18 years, and her daughter Natalie, whose birthday Vern always acknowledged with a thoughtful card and gift; and Stanford friend, Karen Purtich, who we just recently found out about, who were friends for 20 years. He had many friends in Section 8 at Maples Pavilion at Stanford, and was a proud member of the Stanford Buck/Cardinal Club. Vern's Tioga friends were the Tioga basketball families, and all the fans. He had a special bond with his nieces, nephews, and their families; they looked up to Vern and remember his stories and pep talks about life, and with his Herfindahl and Holte cousins.
His hobbies were his music collection, memorabilia of country and bluegrass music; going to concerts (he never missed a "Hardly Strictly" Bluegrass Festival in October at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park); collecting books; the ocean; and his favorite teams, the Tioga Pirates, the Boston Red Sox, and the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team. He attended many games with friends and fans.
Vern's greatest memories were of growing up on the Holte Farmstead, south of Temple, which was homesteaded in 1904. He loved spending time in the Big Holte Barn, which was built in 1914 by Grandfather, Ole S. Holte. It was a very special occasion for Vern when he and his brother, Daryle, had the barn repainted and a big "H" added to the door, in 2021. Another great memory Vern wrote about and added to his collection, was the time his baby sister arrived home from the hospital. Vern wrote "Story of Linda Faye...When they brought her home to the farm, dad said "We brought home from the hospital, your baby sister," and I (Vern) said "What for?" He had mom to himself for seven years, and now had to share with a baby girl, his sister, Linda Faye! Vern's greatest losses were losing his mother, whom he loved and adored, and the loss of his father. He remembered the great talk he and his dad had shortly before his dad passed away. Another great loss was losing the entire family Farmstead in the October 5, 2024, Wildfire. It was a tremendous loss to the entire family.
Vern loved coming home and staying in the old farmhouse he grew up in, and going through his collections of memories, visiting with family and friends, and going to basketball and volleyball games. He was honored in a special article of the Tioga Tribune, where he was chosen by the Tribune and his Tioga Pirates fans, as "Tioga's No. 1 Fan!"
Vern is survived by brother, Daryle Holte; sister, Linda Faye Holte (Gary) Raan; nieces, Connie Holte Sass, Debbie Holte Williams; niece-in-law, Kim Holte; nephews, Chad (Jennifer) Raan, Jareb (Beth) Raan, Nate (Randi) Raan; great-nieces and -nephews, Alesha, Brandon (Brianna), Kesenja, Nichole, Alison (Gary), Garret, Ethan, Hailey, Daxton, Alexa, Farrah, Elliot, Payton, Jaren, Jurni (Jaden), Jaylie, Joscelyn (Kirby), Jessica (Parker); great-great-nieces, -nephews, and cousins.
Vern is preceded in death by parents, Ole and Eleanor (Herfindahl) Holte; brother, Duane Holte; sister-in-law, Opal Holte; nephew, Jeff Holte; grandparents, Ole S. and Bergit Holte, Olaus and Dora Herfindahl. Special family and friends, Leon Rye, Bill Sass, Mike Koch, Ron Ouren, Ron and Janet Mello.
A Memorial Service will be held on May 10th, 2026, at 2 p.m., at Nesets, 6844 Hwy 40, Tioga, ND.
A special Memorial Service for Vern will be held on March 29, 2026, at 11 a.m., at Crippen & Flynn Carlmont Chapel, 1111 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont, CA 94002. There will be a luncheon.
A special thank you to Nelson, Katharine, and Nancy for your friendship, help, and support for Vern and his family, during Vern's final days in California.
Vern was known for his basketball skills and many stories, wearing his red cap in front row, and waving his red cap at center court to cheer everyone on.
Rest In Peace Vern
No. 1 Fan forever