Delmar J. Holson Jr.

Delmar J. Holson Jr. passed away Saturday, January 25th. He was born in Corvallis, Oregon and moved to Benicia with his family as a child. Del proudly served 20 years in the United States Navy beginning in 1954, serving on the USS Isle Royale and CV-62 USS Independence as an AK1. He was Honorably discharged in 1974 and moved his family back to his hometown of Benicia. Following his retirement he worked at several places including Ace Hardware, The Treasury Store in Pleasant Hill, Mare Island Naval Shipyard for almost 15 years and finally at Bay Area Barricade before retiring when he was almost 80 years old. Del was an avid bowler and won countless trophies and carried a career 200 average. Del was also a huge sports fan, especially high school sports, where he attended over 1,000 home and away games in nearly every sport from Girls Volleyball to Panther Football games with his wife Patricia. He loved rooting for Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers and the San Francisco Giants with his favorite player, Willie Mays. Del coached Little League Baseball from 1978-85. Since 1986,he devotedly coached girls softball locally for more than 35 years in the Benicia PAL League and more than 15 of those years included coaching Travel Softball as well. He also helped out for a couple of seasons with Benicia High School Softball. Del's passion for coaching was well-known in Benicia and the surrounding areas. He loved teaching all of his players to have fun and enjoy the game while being competitive. Two of his most proud moments of his sports life were having a local softball tournament named for him and being elected to the Benicia High School Hall of Fame on September 28, 2024. Del is survived by his three children, Larry (Sarah) Holson of Cass,WV, Karen (Charlie) Tennenbaum of Fairfield,CA and Brian (Dian) Holson of Katy,TX; Eight grandchildren, Shannon (Paul) Alderman , Stephanie (Nathan) Stickler , Doug Holson, Alyssa (Justin) Leon, Kyle Pierce, Andrew (Mazy) Holson , Rachel Holson (Zane Crawford), Sarah Holson. Twelve great GrandChildren and One Great-Great Grandson. Also surviving are several nieces and nephews He was preceded in death by his wonderful wife Patricia in 2017. Visitation will be Monday, February 10th from 2-6 p.m. at Passalacqua Funeral Chapel. Graveside services with Military Honors will be held 11:00 a.m., Tuesday , February 11th at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, Dixon.

Delmar J. Holson Jr.

October 21, 1934 - January 25, 2025