Edward C. Holt Jr.

Edward Chester Holt, Jr. of Houston, passed away on Sunday, the 28th of August, 2011. He was born on the 23rd of December 1923, in Philadelphia, to Edward Holt Sr. and Gertrude Blume Holt; he was the second child and son and older brother to 2 sisters, Ruth and Dorothy. His older brother, William, died in childhood.

Edward attended Drexel for 2 years, enlisted in the Navy in 1943, and transferred to MIT to complete his degree. After serving in the 93rd Construction Battalion in the Philippines 1945-1946, he left the Navy and returned to MIT for his Master’s degree in Civil Engineering. He was an instructor in Civil Engineering and earned his PhD at Penn State 1949-1956. He was a professor of Civil Engineering at Rice University 1956-1993, serving a rotation of department chair, served as the University’s Proctor under Presidents Norman Hackerman and George Rupp, and also served as an associate of Sid Richardson College for 15 years, mentoring a new group of freshman each year – he loved teaching and was always available to students. He believed that if just one student in his class learned something, he had done his job well. During the summers, Ed also worked for the Texas Highway Department for a couple of years, most notably on the engineering of the 610 West Loop overpass over the Southwest Freeway, and he served as a consultant for Brown & Root and other companies throughout his working career.

Ed was a member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church LCMS—Houston for over 50 years and a member of the church choir for many of those years. He also sang in the Houston Symphony Chorale for over 20 years, and served as a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader, as well as having been a Scout himself.

Hobbies over the years included photography, crochet, needlepoint, camping, winemaking, and making homemade ice cream. He had a dry wit, an insatiable curiosity, and an unfailing enthusiasm for the natural beauty of the United States and Canada, taking innumerable vacations by car from coast to coast over the years.

Surviving family include: Ruth, his wife of over 53 years; children Margaret (Maggie) Stockwell and husband Chris, Barbara Szalkowski, Marjorie Russell and husband Steve, son Will and wife Gay; grandchildren Hope Stockwell and husband Adam Weber, Will Stockwell, Zack Curry and wife Marisa, Mitch Curry and wife Sonya, Matthew Szalkowski; great-granddaughter Isla Curry; a nephew, four nieces and their families.

A memorial service is to be conducted at two o’clock in the afternoon on Tuesday, the 13th of September, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church LCMS, 5315 Main Street in Houston, where Pastor Mark R. Wiesenborn is to officiate. Immediately following the service, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the Fellowship Hall.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests that memorial contributions be directed to St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 5315 Main St., Houston, TX, 77004; or to the Rice University General Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX, 77251, http://giving.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=245.