Ray Holden 1942-2018

HOLDEN, REDBURN

Posted By: Volunteer Rich Lowe
Date: 5/6/2018 at 08:24:32

Ray Holden, age 75, of Las Vegas, NV, passed away February 18, 2018, at his home in Las Vegas.

Ray was born February 25, 1942, the son of Henry and Verna Holden.

He graduated from Van Buren High School in 1960 and was a graduate of Northeast Missouri State University in Kirksville, MO, and majored in business. He was a member of the Air Force Reserves for a number of years as a medic. He received orders for duty in Vietnam in 1968. The orders were changed and he was sent to St. Louis to take care of returning soldiers.

He is survived by his wife Jasmine, Vas Vegas, NV; son Scott of Phoenix, AZ; Dr. Tim Holden and wife, Los Angeles, CA; two grandsons; three brothers, Gary, Milton, IA, Larry, Tuscon, AZ and Tom, Keosauqua, and many nieces and nephews.

Ray was preceded in death by his mother and father, Henry and Verna Holden, and grandparents, George and Adda Holden, and Edward and Clara Redburn.

He loved fishing and hunting and traveled the world. He was planning in 2018 a two-week tour of Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Vietnam with his wife Jasmine and brother, Tom, but this was cut short due to illness.

Over the last 50 years he built a small empire for himself and family. He started his career by working for United Airlines and Continental Airlines. From there he opened a one-office travel agency which became worldwide, starting in Tucson, AZ, Five Star Travel Agency. He was later named Small Business Man of the Year of Arizona. He had 126 employees worldwide.

Holden built a 650 unit storage complex for boats, trailers and automobiles in the state of Washington From there he built two block-long convenience stores, hardware and more in Washington and had many other business ventures.

He later traded one of these stores for 101 acres of beachfront on the Figi Islands. He turned this into a 10-million dollar property.

He will be greatly missed by his friends and family.

Source: Van Buren County Register, Keosauqua, IA; 1 Mar 2018