Woodrow Holland

Woodrow Wayne "Woody" Holland, DVM, 94, of Erie, passed away at 8:40 a.m., Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at Prairie Mission Retirement Village in St. Paul, Kansas.

He was born on November 11, 1924, in Pittsburg, Kansas, to Harry Lon and Mary Ellen (Welch) Holland. At the age of 9, he moved with his family to a farm southeast of Walnut, Kansas. He attended Eureka Grade School, later Walnut Grade School and St. Patrick Grade School in Walnut, Kansas. In 1943, Woody graduated from Walnut High School.

Following high school, he joined the United States Navy and received basic training in Boulder, Colorado. He received radio training for the Navy in Bainbridge Island, Washington and San Diego, California. He was stationed in Hawaii and later on the Island of Guam. Upon his discharge from the Navy, Woody attended the University of Tennessee and Pittsburg State University. In 1956, he graduated from Kansas State University earning a doctorate in veterinary medicine. He moved to Erie in 1956 and practiced veterinary medicine until retiring at the age of 88 in 2013.

He was a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Erie, Kansas. Woody had a lifelong interest in wildflowers and native plants, collecting flowers and plants from all over the United States. He donated extensive collections to University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Pittsburg State University. Another accomplishment was that he introduced Indian Paint brush flowers into Neosho County.

On June 11, 1955, Woody married Patricia M. Van Leeuwen at St. Francis Catholic Church in St. Paul, Kansas. She survives of the home.

Survivors Include:

His Wife - Patricia Holland, of the home

Two Sons – David Wayne Holland, and his wife, Kindra, of Erie, Kansas

Patrick L. Holland of Overland Park, Kansas

Three Daughters – Rebecca Roberts and her husband, Steve, of Louisburg, Kansas

Margaret Youngworth of Carthage, Missouri

Deborah Noakes of Phoenix, Arizona

Thirteen Grandchildren

Eleven Great-Grandchildren

He was preceded in death by two children, Lawrence Holland and Esther Holland; and two brothers, Raymond Holland and Wilbur Holland.

The funeral Mass will be at 10:00 a.m., on Saturday, June 8, 2019 at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Erie, Kansas. The rosary will be prayed at 9:30 a.m. at the church prior to the funeral Mass. Burial will be at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Walnut, Kansas.

Friends may call at the Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home in Parsons from 1:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., Friday, June 7.

Memorials are suggested to St. Ambrose Catholic Church or Prairie Mission Retirement Village. These may be left at or mailed to Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home, P.O. Box 374, Parsons, Kansas 67357.