Brian Holdaway

It is with extremely heavy hearts that we announce the peaceful passing of Douglas Brian Holdaway of Blenheim, age 67 years, on Tuesday, May 16^th, 2023, at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.  Beloved husband and soulmate for 25 years to Diane Schives.

In Leamington, on May 22^nd, 1955, Brian was the first born son to Douglas and Florine Holdaway (both predeceased).  He will be forever missed by his sister Tammy Holdaway (Tom Hewak predeceased) of Blenheim, brother Ray Holdaway of Chatham and his beloved dog, Louis, which he loved to spend time with after a hard day at work.

Brian was also blessed with many half brothers and sisters.  They include Ken Holdaway (Sylvia) of Port Elgin; Barb Miller (Garry) of Paisley; the late John Holdaway of Port Elgin and Leslee Southgate (Eddie predeceased) of Wallaceburg.  He also will be remembered fondly by many nieces and nephews.

Brian leaves behind his mother-in-law Anna Schives (Donald, predeceased) and three brothers-in law, Randy Schives (Veronica) of Light House Cove, Mark Schives (Dawn) of Blenheim and Barry Schives of Brazil.

Loving stepdad to Carrie Girard-Gonzalez (Kuro) of Binbrook; Maria Michaud (Dominic) of Pain Court; Brandy Girard-Simpson (Jason) and Donny Girard (Cheryl) both of Tilbury plus step-grandfather to six grandchildren (Alexus, Payton, Jordan, Malik, Owen and Bentley).

Brian was extremely academic graduating from Blenheim District High School and then proudly obtaining his B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Western Ontario in London, ON.  Brian worked for many years at the family business, Holdaway Roofing, which after being sold, he started up his own business.  He was extremely proud of his biggest accomplishment in life which was the success of Summit Roofing that he started 30 years ago.  He was known to be a great boss and very devoted to his long time employees.

Brian was a very kind, at times sensitive, caring and generous person always ready to lend a helping hand when needed.  He was instrumental in helping many people during his life.

Being an avid guitarist, Brian had an amazing collection of guitars which he proudly had displayed in his home.  He admired the talents of Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers and local artist Tommy Lockwood, just to name a few.  Brian being a sports fan, would not miss a single Toronto Maple Leafs game on TV and would attend their home games in Toronto a couple of times yearly.  He loved golfing in the summer and curling in the winter.  He was also a member of the Blenheim Legion.  Over the years he enjoyed spending time fishing with his grandson, Malik, who constantly reminded Brian about the minnow size fish which Brian caught.

Brian & Diane spent time travelling, spending time at their trailer and boat in Erieau on weekends and formed many good friendships with other campers.

Brian had many friends who also knew him as ‘Pump’.  They loved laughing at his stories and jokes and listening to the latest prank he was pulling on people.  Everyone had a great time and enjoyed themselves when he was around.

The family would like to express their extreme gratitude to the many doctors, nurses, PSW’s and staff at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance who provided exceptional care for Brian over the last few months.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Willow Ridge on Sunday June 11 from 2pm until 5pm with words of remembrance taking place at 3pm.

Donations can be made Brian’s memory to PAWR https://pawr.org/funds/ or a charity of personal choice in lieu of flowers.  A video tribute of Brian’s life can be viewed by clicking the following link:https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/2LJ8KDBXBR44ZY24