Bert E. Holder

Bert Holder, a retired Laboratory chemist, died April 20, about six months after suffering a fall in his home. He was 89.

Born Nov. 5, 1922, near Big Timber, Mont., he was the fourth of five children of Earl and Virginia (Ellis) Holder. The family moved to Denver, Colo., where he attended school until his mother's death in 1935. He graduated from high school in Ellis, Kan., and returned to Denver with his stepmother, Helen (Mahathey), after his father died in 1940.

Holder attended the University of Denver for a year, then, with the U.S. entry into World War II, enlisted in the Army Air Corps aviation cadet program -- barely passing the 5-foot-4 height and 115-pound weight requirements. He served in North African and Italy, primarily flying P-40s in support of ground operations. During 65 missions, he was forced to bail out of his plane twice -- once after his engine died and, on his last combat mission, after his plane caught fire. He narrowly avoided capture by German troops, and was sheltered by Italian villagers west of Florence until he was able to reunite six days later with advancing American forces.

After the war, he returned to the University of Denver and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees. In 1953, he earned his Ph.D. at MIT. That same year, he accepted a position at LLNL, where his 37-year career included pioneering research on nuclear magnetic resonance, which is widely used today in medical imaging, and testing materials for the U.S. government's weapons program.

He enjoyed the outdoors, and fished and camped from a young age. After retiring, he remained active in a variety of hobbies, including bird watching, hiking in the Sierra, stereopticon card collecting, 3-D photography, tomato and flower growing and travel.

Decades after his military service, he climbed back into a plane to earn his private pilot's license. He enjoyed spending time with his children and three granddaughters, as well as chatting with other Lab retirees and friends.

Family and friends remember him for his scientific intellect, keen intuition, wry humor, generosity, kindness, poker-playing skills and knack for finding parking spaces, among many other traits.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Norma; daughter, Robin Herrera, her husband, Dave, and their daughter, Lauren, all of Long Beach; son, Russell, his wife, Kathleen, and their daughters, Alessandra and Kalysta, all of Davis; stepbrothers, Bill Hartman of Nampa, Idaho, and Karl Scherck of Denver; and stepsisters, Patricia Covington, of Durham, N.C., and Sandra Norton of Columbia, Mo.; and numerous step-nieces, step-nephews and their children.

A celebration of Holder's life will be held 2:30–5:30 p.m., Saturday, June 2, at the Robert Livermore Community Center, 4444 East Ave., Livermore. His family hopes that his many friends will come and share their memories of him. Donations may be made to Smile Train, P.O. Box 96231, Washington, D.C., 20090, or to any preferred charity.