Richard Oscar Holland

Richard (Dick) Holland, 91 passed away peacefully in Houston, Texas on March 10, 2023. A memorial service will be held at Earthman Bellaire Funeral Home on Sunday March 19th from 1:00 to 3:00PM. He will be interred at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Groves, Texas on Monday March 20th at noon.

Dick was born on March 24th, 1931 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He graduated from Nevada High School in Missouri, and from the Missouri School of Mines with a degree in Chemical Engineering. Throughout high school and college he worked in various jobs, from tanning hides to delivering ice, and was also on competitive rifle shooting teams. Upon graduation he was hired by The Texas Company in deferral and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. For two years, Dick served as officer over a combat engineering platoon deployed to Germany for training as the Korean War wound down. Upon completion of his time building bridges and then blowing them up, Dick joined Texaco, working at the refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. Always active in the Church community, he was part of the St. Mary’s Catholic Church social group, “The Tobies” where he met the love of his life and wife of more than 60 years, Mary Elaine Holland.

With the advent of the first computer into the refinery, Dick became responsible for it’s operation and programming, and some of his original coding is in archives today at the Smithsonian institute. In short order, he and Elaine relocated from Port Arthur to Houston where he spent most of his 40 year career at Texaco structuring and deploying new generations of technology systems. Dick enjoyed being outdoors where hunting and family camping were regular weekend events. Incapable of sitting still, Dick always looked to participate in groups to have an activity at the ready, and he was part of an Archery Club, a Dutch Oven Cooking Group, and a Cactus and Succulent Society.

Dick was preceded in death by his parents, Oscar and Ethel Holland. He is survived by his wife Mary Elaine Holland, his son Greg Holland with his wife Bianca Holland, his grandson Tyler Holland, his brother Robert Holland, and his nephews and nieces Michael Carlton, Sharon Wintermute, Mary Holland, Robert Holland Jr., and Jennie Knutson.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.earthmanbellaire.com for the Holland family.