Alan Ralph Holman, 73, of Hillsboro, died on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, surrounded by his family in Highlands Ranch, CO.
Visitation will be held Saturday, Oct. 29, from 12 to 2 p.m. at Hough and Sons Funeral Home in Hillsboro. A Celebration of Life will follow, beginning at 2 p.m. at the funeral home.
Mr. Holman was born March 22, 1949, in Christopher, to Ralph and Virginia Holman. He married Ona, and she preceded him in death.
He led a full life working as a bridge and highway construction technician for the state of Illinois Department of Transportation. After 35 years of working for the state, he retired and established a landscaping business that transformed into a garden center called “Market of Ahs” in Hillsboro.
Throughout the years, Mr. Holman enjoyed being involved in leather crafting, woodworking, food preservation (canning and drying), Master Gardeners’ groups in both Illinois and most recently in Colorado, where he resided for the past eight years.
He was an adventurer at heart, from enjoying a good fishing excursion to traveling to Hawaii and Jamaica, and his mission trips to Germany, Guatemala and Haiti. He enjoyed motorcycle trips, where he traversed the country, seeing major attractions such as the Mackinac Bridge in Upper Peninsula, MI, Salt Lake City and Arches National Park in Utah, Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, Niagara Falls in New York and Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
Mr. Holman traveled tens of thousands of miles around the mountains of Colorado, criss-crossing the state many times over and several other fascinating sites across the country. His adventures allowed him to visit 30 of the lower 48 states. His most memorable trip across the country was from Colorado to Maine during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which impacted the trip from New York to Pennsylvania.
He was always on a quest for knowledge. He watched YouTube videos, learned different languages, and achieved a college degree after retirement. He read and shared articles on ingredients for cooking healthy meals, healing ailments, retirement and many other riveting articles.
Mr. Holman made those around him laugh with his quick wit and silly personality. He always found a way to laugh and enjoy life to the fullest.
He is survived by his brother, Kevin (Linda) Holman; sister, Jill (Louis) Secoy; daughters, Karen (Duane) Cox and Emma (John) Wilson; son, Randy (Tammy) Holman; granddaughter, Kourtney Clark; grandsons, Corey Miller, Patrick Spencer and Ethan Holman; and great-grandchildren, Peyton and Landon Clark.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Holman was preceded in death by his parents; and brother, Gary Holman.
Online condolences to the family may be left at www.houghfuneralhome.com.
