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George Edison Holland, Sr., age 85 of Forest City passed away Tuesday, June 13, 2017.
George was born August 6, 1931 in Richland, Georgia and was a son of the late Carl Plato and Julia Virginia Hester Holland. He was an active member of Florence Baptist Church where he was a deacon and had served on various church committees over the years.
George was in the car business in Forest City for a number of years before selling everything in 1959 to move to Mexico Beach, FL to pursue his dream of becoming a charter boat captain. On arriving in Florida with his wife and three young children he bought a small motel and a service station. A short time later, while studying to take the charter boat license exam, he sold the motel and station and began construction on a new motel located on the boat canal at Mexico Beach. Over the next 15 years, while his wife ran the motel, George owned and operated four different and successively larger charter boats, from 36' to 65'. George is still very well known in the fishing circles from Apalachicola to Destin, Florida. There is a fishing reef (sunken barge) named after him off Panama City.
In 1976, George and Louise sold the motel and boat and moved back to NC. For several years they lived in Gingercake Acres, a development near Linville. In 1978 he and Louise moved back to Forest City. George became interested in mountain real estate and began to buy properties. Among the first was land near
Cherry Mountain and Pinnacle Mountain. In the early 1980's he invested in Gateway Mountain, a large development in McDowell County. For over thirty years George worked tirelessly to make Gateway a premier mountain development. He retired only a few years ago.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Louise Allen Holland in 2015, a son, Mark Allen Holland, brothers, Carl Plato Holland, Jr., Robert Lee Holland, and sister, Augusta May Phillips.
Survivors include a son, George Edison "Ed" Holland, Jr., and wife Elizabeth Bird "Betsy" Holland of Pensacola, FL, a daughter, Julia Holland "Julie" Nobles and husband, Rodney L. Nobles of Crestview, FL, daughter-in-law, Rosemari Toney Holland of Forest City, a sister, Geneva Holland Wright, six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren. There are also a number of nieces and nephews.
The funeral service was held in the Florence Baptist Church with Reverend Dr. Bobby Gantt officiating. Interment followed in the Eternal Hills Memorial Park. Memorials may be made to Florence Baptist Church, 201 South Broadway Street, Forest City, NC 28043.
The Padgett & King Mortuary & Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
