James 'Jim' William Holland

JAMES "JIM" WILLIAM HOLLAND

Iowa City

James "Jim" William Holland, 80, died Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 5, 2022, at The Kirkwood Room (located next to Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service in Iowa City). In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to American Heart Association at www.heart.org/.

Jim was born Oct. 24, 1941, in Iowa City, the son of William Joseph (aka Newt or Popo) and Marion (Beecher) Holland. He received his bachelor's degree in business from the University of Iowa. How he managed to pull that off is still shrouded in mystery.

Jim lived in Chicago for 40 years where he worked for a number of firms, was a small business owner and finished his career as the director of Financial Services for the State of Illinois, where he several times met Rod Blagojevich. Jim wasn't a fan but looked favorably on the fact that they shared glorious heads of hair. He returned to Iowa City in 2010 because he heard about the burgeoning culinary scene and it was clear he was not going to become the next governor of Illinois. He was a life-long Hawkeyes and Cubs fan, so he got to see a world series win ... one out of two ain't bad. He was known as a kind man of modest means, evident in how many people were always volunteering to help assemble and connect things for him and by the age of his furniture. His favorite quote, which he often shared with his sons, was from another famous Jim, Jim Valvano, which was; 'Don't give up. Don't ever give up.' Jim quietly embodied this every day.

Jim is survived by his three sons, Kevin (Shannon) of Naperville, Ill., Daniel of Naperville, Ill., and David of Montgomery, Ill.; two granddaughters, Marlowe and Brenner; and his sister, Marilyn (Dave) Maher of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents. He will be remembered fondly and he will be missed.

Online condolences may be sent to www.lensingfuneral.com.