Edward B. Holton

Edward B. Holton, 87, of Independence, MO passed away on October 28, 2006 at the Carmel Hills Living Center. A visitation will take place from 10-11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 1, at Nativity of Mary Catholic Church. A rosary will follow from 11-11:20 a.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11:30 a.m. Burial at Woodlawn Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Nativity of Mary building fund.
Edward�s death marked the completion of a life that was emblematic of his generation - a story of hardship, sacrifice, service and success played out against the backdrop of 20th Century America.
His parents - Thomas Holton and Catherine Lynch - were both immigrants who arrived separately from Ireland with little in their pockets. They met and married in Kansas City, Kan., and saved enough money to take over a small dairy farm near Tonganoxie. There they would raise six children - four boys and two girls. Edward - called Eddie - was the youngest. He was born June 26, 1919.
Growing up on a farm during the Great Depression was not easy, but the Holtons managed better than many. There was always work to be done in the fields, but always food on the table. Having three older brothers made Edward�s life more carefree than it otherwise might have been. Later in life, Edward recalled his boyhood on the farm with fondness, spinning stories for his children of his one-room schoolhouse, Hawk Hollow, and days spent playing baseball, football or riding his beloved pony, Diamond. Edward graduated from Tonganoxie High School in 1936. His oldest brother�s three sons continue to operate a large dairy on the farm.
A critical juncture in Edward�s life was his decision to attend college, and his acceptance at Rockhurst College in Kansas City. He studied chemistry and received his degree in 1940. While at Rockhurst, Edward - through mutual friends - would also meet and begin his courtship of Lucille Smith, a dark-haired beauty from Independence. She would become the love of his life, the mother of his five children and his wife of 60 years.
With World War II looming after his graduation, Edward enlisted in the Army and left home for the first time. His education - specifically his ability to operate a typewriter - made him a candidate for officers� training. During the war, he served in Europe on the staff of General Dwight D. Eisenhower�s Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. The 38 months he spent in London, France and Germany would be the defining experience of his life, and friendships forged quickly in the intensity of those days were strong enough to last a lifetime. Edward left the Army as a captain in 1946, but for the rest of his life he never stopped telling stories about the war or extolling the virtues of his idol, President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The music of that time - from Glenn Miller to Ella Fitzgerald - was the soundtrack of his life.
Edward and Lucille were married February 16, 1946 at St. Mary�s Parish in Independence. But soon they moved to St. Louis, where he had been accepted into St. Louis University Medical School. They started their family, and Edward�s graduation and subsequent return to take over a medical practice in Independence in 1951 would raise the curtain on the happiest and most prosperous decades of his life.
In addition to having his practice at the Englewood Medical Plaza, Edward was on the staff of the Independence Sanitarium & Hospital, now Independence Regional Health Center. He was president of that staff in 1957 and 1958. He served as Medical Director at Amoco Oil Co., Sugar Creek, for many years and as a physician at the T.J. Lipton Co. for seven years. He was a member of Nativity of Mary Catholic Church in Independence. He was a devout Catholic and member of the Knights of Columbus and the Sertoma Club.
Edward instilled in his children a love for books and knowledge, and an appreciation for the power of education to change a person�s life, with his own experience as an example. He was an avid sports fan - a diehard supporter of Notre Dame football, the Kansas City A�s and a Kansas City Chiefs season ticket holder from the franchise�s first year in Kansas City until he had to give up the tickets in recent years because of failing health. Edward and his children were in the stands for the inaugural games played at both Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium. He was also part of a regular Thursday golf foursome at Stayton Meadows golf course.
Edward was a lifelong, passionate Democrat whose heroes were Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy.
His passion for sports, politics and all things Irish began to wane with the onset of Alzheimers in 2001 and 2002. Edward and Lucille moved out of their longtime residence on Westport Road in 2004. They moved to the Fountains at Greenbriar in east Independence, where Edward was often greeted in the halls by friends and former patients who remembered and loved him. He moved into Carmel Hills later that year. Despite his illness, he was still quick with a smile or a joke, earning popularity with staffers who addressed him simply as "Doc.� Having survived all of his siblings, Edward made his final pilgrimage to the Tonganoxie farm of his boyhood in July 2004. A stroke the following May left him confined to a wheelchair.
Edward�s wife and oldest son were with him at his bedside when he died.
He is survived by his wife, Lucille, and five children; Kathleen Kaplan and husband Richard of Las Vegas, Nev.; Timothy P. Holton and wife Julie of St. Ann, Mo.; Brian E. Holton and wife Sue of Paoli, Pa.; son Sean M. Holton of Orlando, Fla.; and daughter Ellen P. Holton and her partner Stacy Atchison of Los Angeles. His legacy includes three grandchildren, Timothy, Julia and Elizabeth Holton of Paoli, Pa.