Rex Holland, 95 of Midland, passed away on Saturday, January 11, 2025 surrounded by his family. The family will receive guests from 5:00pm-7:00pm, Friday, January 24, 2025 at Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home. A Celebration of a Life Well Lived will be held at 12:00 noon, Saturday, January 25, 2025 at Wilshire Park Baptist Church, followed by graveside services at Resthaven Memorial Park.
Rex was born on December 12, 1929, in rural Coleman County, Texas to Bessie Irene (Green) and Raymond Franklin Holland, the fifth out of ten children. Rex’s childhood was spent near the Little Mud Creek and the surrounding countryside. Rex attended Buffalo Schools and graduated High School there in 1948. Childhood stories his family enjoyed hearing were of the living arrangements they had in a very small rural home in Coleman County. Stories of dragging a 100-pound cotton sack through the dusty field and picking cotton to fill the bag. A funny story of his brothers getting in trouble for falling from a tree branch into the creek during a Baptismal service. Many other tales of his friends and their antics. During his school years Rex found that he had a talent for basketball and enjoyed playing the sport. As an adult and father, while his children were still at home, it was not unusual to see him playing basketball in the driveway with them and their friends. He was a crack shot from long distance and very rarely was on the losing side of any contest.
After high school Rex enlisted with the United States Navy as the Korean War was beginning. He served aboard the USS Hector in theater during the Korean War and supported the Inchon Landing Offensive by running a boat to and from the shore, or from the shore to the hospital ship carrying wounded personnel. As the offensive moved forward Rex and some other sailors were handed pistols and asked to clear caves of any lingering enemy combatants. In 2015 Rex was honored to take the trip of a lifetime as an honoree on a Permian Basin Honor Flight to Washington DC, and his son-in-law Pat Fisher accompanied him, and they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Upon returning home after the Navy, Rex met Betty Allgood at Coggin Park in Brownwood and they were married June 4 of 1952, and remained steadfastly married just shy of 70 years when Betty gained her heavenly reward in 2022. Rex worked for Higinbotham Supply, then for Weakley-Watson in Brownwood. Rex and Betty then moved to Odessa, then Robert Lee while he was still working for Weakly Watson. The couple then moved to Midland in 1955 and Rex began working for Branch Roofing as the bookkeeper. During the early years in Midland Rex and Betty got involved in a small church start up, meeting in Burnet Elementary School cafetorium, and later constituting a church named Wilshire Park Baptist. Rex and Betty were faithful servants of Christ at Wilshire Park Baptist the rest of their natural lives and were blessed by the fellowship with so many like-minded believers through the years. In the mid 1960s Rex changed jobs and went to work for The National Steel Company and remained working there as a Regional Salesman until his retirement, celebrating several years as the company’s number one salesman in the country. After retiring from National Steel and while Betty was still employed as a school bus monitor for MISD, Rex obtained his CDL and drove school buses for over 10 years with MISD, building friendships with other drivers and with those that maintained the buses. After the second retirement he helped Reesa with pet sitting up until right before his 94th birthday. Pets loved him just like people did.
Rex enjoyed supporting Midland College Chapparal basketball and attended many home and away games and following them on to Hutchison Kansas as they competed for the NJCAA Championship. A fan of the Dallas Cowboys since their inception, Rex and Betty also were able to attend some of their games when the Cowboys still played at Fair Park in the Cotton Bowl and were always cheering them on when on television. Many wonderful camping trips into the mountains of New Mexico were spent in RVs through the years, and nothing was finer than a clear mountain morning with a good cup of coffee and hummingbirds buzzing around your feeder. Bluegrass Gospel music was a passion for Rex, and he really enjoyed hearing some of the top names in the business at live venues in Claremore, Branson, Lubbock and Midland. As far as hobbies go, Rex enjoyed estate sales, refurbishing bicycles, clocks, guitars, banjos, fiddles, and keyboards – always mechanically curious and striving to make them as good as new.
Rex is survived by his son, Gordon Holland (wife Jettie) of Claremore OK; daughter Reesa Fisher (husband Pat) of Midland; granddaughter, Crystal Stafford of The Woodlands TX, great-grandson Aaron; grandson Jason Holland (wife Jessica) of Cheyenne OK, great-grands Tavi, Ellie & Titus; grandson Zac Holland (wife Caroline) of Navarre FL, great-grands Zoey & Lily; and grandson Joshua Holland (wife Kristen) of Locust Grove OK, great-grands Kai, Jude & Jett. Rex is also survived by his sister Wanda Middleton of White Settlement TX, his sister Joyce Dunn of Bradenton FL, his brother Wilburn Holland of Knox City, and sister in laws Cathy Blakey (Ken) of Pilot Point, Judy Ragsdill (Jack) of Sherman TX.
Rex is preceded in death by his wife Betty, his father, Raymond F Holland, his mother, Bessie Green Holland, and brothers, Jamie, Dillard, Lonnie, Aubrey, Ralph and his sister Rita Holland.
The family would like to express their gratitude towards Hospice of Midland for their ministering help, and to the tremendous nursing staff at Midland Memorial Hospital.
Pallbearers will be Jason Holland, Zac Holland, Joshua Holland, Aaron Stafford, Steven Fisher, Jude Holland, Jett Holland and Titus Holland.
Any memorial donations can be made to Wilshire Park Baptist Church, 801 S. Bentwood, Midland TX 79703.
Arrangements are under the direction of Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home & Crematory of Midland. Online condolences may be made at www.npwelch.com.
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