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Schools

Wendell Holman Lived to Help Others

Holman, who taught in the Brentwood School District for 24 years, died on Monday.

Wendell Holman loved to work with his hands. That’s why he taught industrial arts—shop class—for almost 40 years, 24 of them in the Brentwood School District.

“He could do electrical work, woodworking, plumbing and basic architecture,” said his wife of 46 years, Emily Gillum Holman. “He worked every place but home,” she said, laughing.

Mostly Holman just liked to help others, from Hurricane Katrina survivors to Habitat for Humanity St. Louis, where he volunteered.

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On Monday, June 27, he died at his Creve Coeur home from prostate cancer. He was 67 years old.

Holman was born in Louisiana, MO, and attended Bowling Green High School where he met his wife. The high school sweethearts married on Valentine’s Day in 1965.

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He attended the University of Missouri and Northeast Missouri State (now Truman State), obtaining a bachelor’s degree in science and master’s degree plus 30 additional credit hours.

Holman taught in the Brentwood School District from 1970 to 1994. He left after a staff reduction, and then taught in the Wentzville and Troy school districts.

“He was always willing to help me out with my art class project,” said Beverly (Musgrove) Shoults, a retired Brentwood art instructor. From drilling holes in students’ handmade jewelry to creating a wooden base for a sculpture, “Wendell was never to busy to help,” Shoults said.

“A lot of kids stayed with him from seventh grade until high school graduation,” she said, initially making birdhouses to full-size furniture, like coffee tables. “They made some really nice pieces,” Shoults said.

Helpful, kind and friendly; Holman was described by friends and family like a Boy Scout, which he actually was. He was a leader with Boy Scout Troop No. 457 and a member of the organization’s prestigious Order of the Arrow Brotherhood (Shawnee District).

“Some of my best memories are when we would go on a scout campout,” said his youngest child, Tom Holman of Austin, TX. That includes three trips to Philmont Scout Ranch, a high-adventure hiking-camping experience for Boy Scouts in the mountains of New Mexico.

A can-do sort of man, Holman was also a problem solver. Such was the time when young Tom—as “a dumb, 7-, 8- or 9-year-old”—injured himself in January 1982, when the St. Louis area received over 20 inches of snow.

“The streets weren’t clear so the ambulances couldn’t go out,” said Tom Holman. “My dad loaded me in his pick-up with the snow-plow and then plowed the streets for about four miles to get me to the hospital.”

“Wendell was an all-around great guy,” said Kyle Hunsberger, director of construction for Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis. “He had a lot of know-how and was familiar with working with people who were new to processes.

“His leadership style was to work behind the scenes,” said Hunsberger. “If plans changed or goals shifted, he would laugh and say ‘Okay,’ and move on.”

Holman was an ordained deacon and elder in the former Rock Hill Presbyterian Church, and a member of Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church.

Wendell is survived by his wife, Emily Gillum Holman; four children, Phyllis Jarrell, Michele Dorner (Rusty), Michael Holman and Thomas Holman; five grandchildren; one great-grandchild; brother Wayne Holman (Mabel); mother-in-law Mildred Ware Gillum; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and many close friends.

A memorial service was conducted at Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church on Friday with his ashes interred at Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Bowling Green later in the day.

Memorial donations are suggested to Ladue Chapel's Mission Fund or Mennonite Central Committee or other charity of your choosing.

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