Charles Lea Holt

Charles L. (Chuck) Holt, 75, passed away peacefully with family beside him at the VA Hospital in Tucson, AZ on July 30, 2022. He was born June 2, 1947 in Danville, VA to Judson G. and Bertha B. Holt. He was a native of Caswell County, NC where he attended Bartlett Yancey High School and from which he joined the US Navy. He found his second home in southern Arizona, where he attained certificates in Cultural Anthropology and Spanish at Pima and Cochise Community colleges, and ran a successful business.

He began working for the US Forest Service in 1994 as a fire lookout in the Chiricahua Mountains and continued working for the agency in several positions during a career that spanned 21 years. A second-generation forester, Chuck took naturally to living and working in remote areas of the Coronado National Forest. He served several years at Cochise Stronghold Ranger Station, which he called ‘The Jewel of the Coronado,’ and responded to numerous wildland fire incidents throughout the country during the 1990s. In 2005, he moved closer to the Tucson area, becoming Center Manager for the Southeast Zone Dispatch Center, a position he held for 10 years and retired from.

In retirement, he proudly served with the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers of Pima County. He spoke often of how much he enjoyed using his vintage Ford 8N tractor in his efforts to maintain the gravel road for his rural neighbors, especially when they would stop to visit with him.

He is survived by his daughter, Lillianna Turpin (Jacob) of Tucson; brother, Kenneth Holt (Charlotte) of South Boston, VA; sister, Laura H. Collie (Donald) of South Boston, VA; nephew, Judson T. Collie of Mt. Lookout, WV; niece, Sarah E. Collie of Virginia Beach, VA, and numerous other family members whom he considered also included his Forest Service family.

Burial arrangements are being handled by Desert Rose Heather in Tucson, where an online memorial page has been established. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be directed to the National Museum of Forest Service History, P.O. Box 2772, Missoula, MT 59806.

Arrangements are being made for a Celebration of Life to occur in later this year.