Ernest Richard Holz

Ernest "Ernie" Richard Holz, a long-time resident of Arlington, Virginia and Washington DC died Monday, January 3, 2022, at the Sunrise Jefferson, Arlington, Virginia of complications from a hip fracture and dementia at age 80.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia on September 14, 1941, to Salvation Army officers Ernest W. Holz and Wilhelmina Krunsberg Holz, Ernie accompanied his parents as they moved to Regional and National Assignments in Louisville, Kentucky; Dallas, Texas, Washington DC, and Jacksonville, Florida where Ernie graduated from high school, before returning to Washington DC to attend George Washington University. Then, a lifelong impressionable experience for Ernie was seeing Dr. Martin Luther King deliver his famous speech, "l have a Dream," at the Lincoln Memorial.

After graduating from George Washington University with a Government Degree during the Vietnam War, Ernie was drafted and went to Naval Officers Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. After receiving his Commission in March 1966, Ernie became a Sonar and Communications Officer during the Vietnam War aboard the USS Bennington Aircraft Carrier dating from 1944. His assigned mission was to rescue downed pilots and prevent Submarine Warfare in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1966 and 1967. A highlight of that period was going ashore in Da Nang, Vietnam to escort Bob Hope and his Company of Entertainers; which included Anita Bryant and Joey Heatherton aboard the Bennington. Later, Ernie assisted a seasick Joey Heatherton. Other positive memories during that era were trips to Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippine Islands, and Australia.

Upon return to Washington DC, Ernie completed his U.S. Navy Service, followed Anti-War Protests, and went on to Graduate School at George Washington University, where he received a Master’s Degree of Urban Planning following the submission of his Master’s Thesis on North Carolina and other coastal area planning for The Effects Of Rising Sea Level. On the way to class on May 3, 1971, Ernie was indiscriminately arrested with more than 7000 alleged War Protestors in Washington DC and jailed at the R.F. Kennedy Stadium without food, water, and adequate facilities until released during the early morning of May 4th with a charge of Unlawful Assembly and Disorderly Conduct. Currently known as the “May Day Arrest,” it was the largest Mass Arrest in United States History, according to Regional and National Press Reports. (See Washington Daily Times, May 3, 1971; and Newsweek May 17, 1971.)

Ernie spent his professional career in areas of planning for the Private, Public, and Nonprofit Sectors. For the Federal Government, he persuaded State and Local Governmental Officials and Planners to develop Historic Cities and Towns, such as Charleston SC; New Orleans LA; and Louisville KY. Called as a believer in Social Justice, Ernie spent more than 25 years directing Developmental and Planning Programs in Energy and other services for the Salvation Army’s National Capital Area, and Washington, DC. For example, on behalf of the Salvation Army, Ernie acquired a significant “Annual Recurring Federal Grant” that primarily funds its Harbor Light Center in Washington DC, and managed the Salvation Army’s participation in the Washington Area Fuel Fund of Washington Gas.

Areas of significant interest to Ernie were National and International Events, running, reading, baseball, horseback riding, enjoying animals, dining with family and friends, traveling, humming and listening to all musical types; from Classical, to 1940s to 1970s Era Songs, Jazz, to Religious. In retirement, he ran in the Arlington Senior Olympics, played in the Senior Softball Leagues of Arlington and Fairfax Counties. He traveled to areas of England, Europe including Scandinavia, and South America.

Ernie is survived by his wife of 34 years, Linda S. Holz of Arlington, VA; sisters, Lt. Col. Mary H. Jones and husband Lt. Col. Tom Jones of Clearwater, Florida; Christine H. Goodier and husband Bob Goodier of Osprey, Florida; nieces Ellen Jones of Bowie, Maryland; Natalie Jones of Atlanta, Georgia; Elizabeth Holz, Cape Carteret, NC; nephews David Jones and Mac Holz, Cape Carteret, NC; and great nephew Parker Jones, Georgia; nephew Wesley DeBruhl with wife Lori and great nephew Noah DeBruhl, Hampstead, NC; and sisters-in-law Paxon M. Holz, Cape Carteret, NC; and Jo Ann S. DeBruhl, Beaufort, NC; cousins such as Pam K. Pitcher, New Orleans, LA; and many friends. He is preceded in death by his parents, Commissioner and Mrs. Ernest Holz, and brother, William H. Holz, Cape Carteret, NC.

A Memorial Service is scheduled for 11:00am Saturday, April 2, 2022, and streamed from Clarendon United Methodist Church at 606 North Irving Street, Arlington, VA 22201. Inurnment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested for the Clarendon United Methodist Church, 606 North Irving Street, Arlington, VA 22201; National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190-5362; or the Washington Area Fuel Fund Washington Gas, c/o Gift of Warmth, 6801 Industrial Road, Springfield, VA 222151.