Dr. Ralph Theodore Holland passed away on November 01, 2017 in Fredericksburg, Texas. A celebration of life service will be held 10:30 a.m. on November 6th at Memorial Presbyterian Church in Fredericksburg, officiated by Rev. Ann Hoch. Serving as honorary pallbeares will be David Holland, Mark Holland, Jonathan Holland, Luke Schmidt, Ed Schroeder and John Hernandez.
It was Dr. Holland's request to have his ashes scattered at his son's ranch in Doss, Texas, and his family will gather on Tuesday, November 7th, to commemorate and honor his soul and spirit. In lieu of flowers to family, kindly send donations in his memory to Heifer Project, Carter Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, United Church World Service and Salvation Army, all of which were charities that were particularly meaningful to Dr. Holland. Online condolences may be left at www.fredericksburg-funerals.com

Dr. Holland was born on March 25, 1930 in Philadelphia to Ms. Elizabeth Hewitt and Dr. Ralph Holland. Dr. Holland's greatest accomplishment was being a father to seven wonderful children. Dr. Holland raised his children and made his home in Fredericksburg in 1986 with his loving wife, Mary, and three youngest children, Kristen, Celeste Elise and Jonathan. His eldest children, Beth, David, Mark and Rebecca make their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Dr. Holland has 4 grandchildren, Ana, Spencer, Liam and Harper.

Dr. Holland was active in the community and particularly enjoyed attending local concerts, benefits, and dances. Dr. Holland graduated with top scholastic honors and received the following degrees: Masters of Divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary in 1954, S.T.M. from Boston University in 1958, and furthered his education with a Ph.D. in 1970 from University of Denver. Dr. Holland held prominent roles, both domestic and foreign, in Higher Education Administration, including St. Edward's University and Incarnate Word College. Dr. Holland's view on philosophy of education was that the development of ethical sensitivity enables the truly educated man to choose to use his acquired knowledge in ways that would most serve the needs of all God's children. Dr. Holland was passionate about life and compassionate about contributing to a greater cause. Dr. Holland was an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ for 63 years. Additionally, Dr. Holland was an accomplished violinist; at age six, Dr. Holland served as guest soloist with Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and will be fondly remembered for his deep passion and appreciation for music and fine arts. In his spare time, Dr. Holland additionally enjoyed backpacking, camping, cycling, sailing, traveling and being in company of his family.