HOLZ Ernest Richard Holz “Ernie” Ernest “Ernie” Richard Holz, a longtime resident of Arlington, Virginia and Washington, D.C. died Monday, January 3, 2022 at Sunrise Jefferson, Arlington, Virginia from complications of a broken bone. hip 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 postings 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 lasting impression for Ernie was seeing Dr. Martin Luther King deliver his famous “I have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. After earning a government degree from George Washington University during the Vietnam War, Ernie was drafted and went to Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. Receiving his commission in March 1966, Ernie became a sonar and communications officer during the Vietnam War aboard the USS Bennington, whose mission was to rescue downed pilots and prevent submarine warfare in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1966 and 1967. Upon returning to Washington, D.C., Ernie completed his United States Navy service, followed anti-war protests, and attended graduate school at George Washington University, where he earned a master’s degree in urban planning, after having submitted a thesis on the planning of the effects of sea level rise on coastal zones. On his way to class on May 3, 1971, Ernie was indiscriminately arrested along with more than 7,000 alleged war protesters in Washington, D.C. and imprisoned at RF Kennedy Stadium without adequate food, water and facilities until his release at small morning of May 4. with a charge of unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct. Known as the May Day arrest, it was the largest mass arrest in US history, according to regional and national news reports. (See Washington Daily Times, May 3, 1971; Newsweek, May 17, 1971.) Ernie has spent his professional career planning for the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. A believer in social justice, Ernie has spent more than 25 years leading development and planning programs in energy and other services for The Salvation Army, National Capital Region, Washington, D.C. . For example, on behalf of the Salvation Army, Ernie acquired a large recurring annual federal grant that primarily funds his Harbor Light Center in Washington, DC, and managed his participation in Washington Gas’ Washington Area Fuel Fund. Ernie is survived by his wife of 34 years, Linda S. Holz, Arlington, VA; her sisters, Lt. Col. Mary H. Jones and her husband, Lt. Col. Tom Jones of Clearwater, Florida; Christine H. Goodier and her husband, Bob Goodier of Osprey, Florida; nieces Ellen Jones of Bowie, Maryland; Natalie Jones of Atlanta, Georgia; Elizabeth Holz, Cape Carteret, North Carolina; nephews David Jones and great-nephew Parker Jones, Georgia; Mac Holz, Cape Carteret, North Carolina; Wesley DeBruhl with his 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, North Carolina; many cousins such as Pam K. Pitcher, New Orleans, LA; and friends. He is predeceased by his parents, Commissioner and Mrs. Ernest Holz, and his brother, William H. Holz, of Cape Carteret, NC. A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 2, 2022 at Clarendon United Methodist Church, 606 North Irving Street, Arlington, VA, and will be broadcast live. Interment will follow later at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested for the National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190-5362; the Washington Area Fuel Fund, Washington Gas, c/o Gift of Warmth, 6801 Industrial Road, Springfield, VA 22151; or, Clarendon United Methodist Church. A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 2, 2022 at Clarendon United Methodist Church, 606 North Irving Street, Arlington, VA, and will be broadcast live. Interment will follow later at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested for the National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190-5362; the Washington Area Fuel Fund, Washington Gas, c/o Gift of Warmth, 6801 Industrial Road, Springfield, VA 22151; or, Clarendon United Methodist Church.
Published by the Washington Post on February 4, 2022.
