Benjamin Dred "Ben" Holland

Benjamin Dred “Ben” Holland, 84, of Taylortown, passed away Friday, April 17, 2015, at his home. Services are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 21st, at Bright-Holland Funeral Home with Rev. Jody VanDeaver & Dr. L. C. Stout officiating. Burial, with military honors, will follow in Union Cemetery at Taylortown. The family will receive friends from 6 – 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home and will be at the home of Melody & Danny Horton, 251 CR 16590, Pattonville, TX 75468, at other times. Ben, the son of Benjamin Dred & Ora Burrous Holland, was born April 23, 1930, in Taylortown. Being reared in Taylortown in and around his father’s general store, he went north with the wheat harvest in his late teens. It was shortly after this that he joined the U. S. Air Force and was stationed at Carswell Air Force Base in Ft. Worth. During that time he met Dorothy Mae Leatherwood of Ft. Worth. They were married on March 18, 1955, and built 58 years of family and memories before her death on Jan. 25, 2014. He and Dorothy owned and operated their farm, ranch and dairy in the Taylortown community. They were also partners in Justiss and Holland Costal Bermuda Grass Planting for many years. In his later years, Ben enjoyed going to Canton Trade Days, Jewett and Gene’s Flea Market where he sold and traded any type of fowl one might think of along with dogs, cats, donkeys and anything someone might trade him. Survivors include one son, Benjamin Dred Holland of Paris, two daughters, Melody Jane Holland Horton & husband Danny of Taylortown and Laura Benette Holland Russell & husband Kevin of Reno, grandchildren, Holland Graham Russell, Hayden Barkley Dunn Russell, Garrett Horton & wife Raynie and Hannah Horton, great grandchildren, Bryer, Garrison and Derringer Horton, one sister, Jane Holland Polk of Paris, one niece, Brenda Polk Watson of Paris, his faithful companion since Dorothy’s death, Poncho, along with a plethora of friends. In addition to his wife, Dorothy Mae, he was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Chandler Jane Russell and his brother-in-law, J D Polk. If desired, memorials may be made to Gideons International, P. O. Box 261, Paris, TX 75461, Bethel Baptist Church, c/o Lois Fuquay, 7339 FM 905, Paris, TX 75462, or Union Cemetery Assoc., c/o William Cochran, 8246 FM 1498, Paris, TX 75462.