Obituary of John Joseph Holder, Jr

Retired NYCPD Police Detective, John “Jack” Holder, 81, beloved husband of Bonnie Morris Holder, slipped the bonds of this earth in the evening hours of Christmas Day, December 25, 2023, to hear the Christmas story told by Jesus himself.

Jack was a parishioner at St. Gerard Catholic Church and a devoted Catholic who attended Mass regularly.

Born on September 18, 1942, in New York City, NY, he was the son of the late John Joseph Holder and Elizabeth Agnes (nee Canavan). Jack was a decorated 2nd grade Detective with the New York City Police Department who worked on numerous high-profile cases involving organized crime. Jack was a member of the Detective Endowment Association, President for 25 years of the National Police Defense Foundation, a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus.

Jack had a great knack for humor and loved spending time with his family and friends as well as assisting with various charity events.

Jack’s hobbies included reading, golf, and traveling around the world with Bonnie. He was proficient in several languages and was a published author of “The Long Road to Gold,” based upon his law enforcement career.

Surviving in addition to his wife, are his two daughters and sons-in-law; Barbara & Al Matousek of Aiken and Deborah & Mitch Palminteri of Asheville; a son and daughter-in-law, Andrew and Jude Holder of Collegeville, PA; a sister and brother-in-law, Arlene & George Mikos of Maine; a daughter-in-law, Christine Holder of Levittown, NY, spouse of his predeceased son Christopher Holder; a sister-in-law, Ida Holder of Tampa, FL spouse of his predeceased brother Steven Holder; grandchildren, Stephanie (Justin Monahan) Matousek, Thomas Matousek, Gregory Matousek, Melanie Matousek, Nico Holder, Luca Holder, and Brian Holder.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, December 29, 2023, at 11:00am at St. Gerard Catholic Church, 640 Edrie Street, NE, Aiken, SC 29801 with Father Emmanuel Andinam as celebrant. Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery, 1255 University Lane, Aiken, SC 29801.

The family will receive friends from 4:00pm until 7:00pm on Thursday, December 28th at the Historic George Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 211 Park Ave SW, Aiken, SC 29801 (803) 649-6234. A prayer service will be held at 6:00pm with Deacon Al Matousek, St. Mary Help of Christians.

For those unable to attend the viewing, the wake service will be livestreamed on the official George Funeral Home & Cremation Center Face Book page (Facebook.com/GFHCC) beginning at 5:30pm EST on Thursday evening.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10306, https://t2t.org, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, www.stjude.org or to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8516, https://supportwoundedwarriorproject.org.

Online expressions of sympathy for the family may be left by visiting www.georgefuneralhomes.com.