Tim Holman (1957-2021)

HOLMAN, HEARTLY, SEWELL

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 8/14/2021 at 08:57:28

Saturday, August 14, 2021
Tim Holman

Tim Holman, 64, Iowa City, Iowa, died Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, after a long coexistence with cancer. His remains have been cremated. A celebration of life is planned for a later date. To leave a tribute, comment, or just to heckle, visit gayandciha.com.

Tim was born May 31, 1957, in Centerville, Iowa, the second son of Rex Holman and Rosezella Heartley Holman. Tim enjoyed a pleasant childhood in Keokuk, Iowa, in an era of much unstructured and unsupervised time. He graduated from Keokuk High School in 1975, Southeastern Community College in 1977 and Iowa State University in 1980 with a B.S. in Horticulture. He received his M.A. in Science Education from the University of Iowa in 1988.

On Sept. 2, 1984, covered with cuts and bruises one day after crashing his motorcycle, Tim met Meredith Sewell at the Stone City Music Festival. Stone City is an actual place and the music festival was a real thing, living on in the hazy memories of those lucky enough to have been there. Tim thought, correctly, that Meredith was way out of his league, but on a warm and sunny Dec. 27, 1986 at Old Brick in Iowa City, she married him anyway. It was far and away the best thing that ever happened to him, followed closely by daughters Melanie and Nora. That's more good luck than one very average guy could ever expect.

When it came to his career, Tim was a late bloomer. After a few unfulfilling jobs, in 1990 he found his niche as a research assistant in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa. He retired 30 years later as a research specialist. Most of his work involved coordinating clinical trials. He enjoyed his time at the university, and the people he worked for and with, including all the clinical trial volunteers.

Tim was fortunate to have many friends, whom he missed greatly during the pandemic. His favorite activities included downhill skiing, paddling rivers in one of his many canoes, camping, hiking, biking, working in his gardens, live music, traveling, offbeat films, and books of all sorts. He was a longtime supporter of public radio and TV. He was a fitness buff and ran for decades until his legs gave out, switched to the bike, and later, the elliptical. He thought exercise was the answer to almost any problem.

Tim is survived by his beautiful wife, Meredith Sewell; lovely daughter Melanie Ducharme and husband Dan Ducharme of Plymouth, Minn.; equally lovely daughter, Nora Holman and partner Max Ibsen of Iowa City; and cool big brother, Tom Holman of Ozark, Mo., along with numerous extended family. His parents preceded him in death.

There is no end, only another chapter.