Onie Holt Jr. will forever remain in our hearts a legendary husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, and great-grandfather. His larger than life and caring personality served him well over the years as a volunteer fireman, a City Marshall, a Deputy Sheriff, and Constable. Born September 14, 1931, to O.L. and Willie Holt, Onie lived his life of 92 years to the absolute fullest, until he left his earthly body on Saturday, the 23rd of December – just in time to spend Christmas with his beloved wife of 64 years, Mary Nell, who preceded him in death only three months prior. Graduating from Carthage High School, Onie was a proud member of the choir, directed by Dr. Charles Wade Nelson. During his two-year stay in the Army as a trombonist in the Army Band, he enjoyed traveling with the band, often to perform at celebrations honoring war hero Audie Murphy. After leaving Mineral Wells and the Army behind, he made his way back to East Texas, and found a job as the produce manager at Brookshires in Gladewater. Deciding to dine one Friday at the Coffee Cup Café, he returned from the salad bar to find two ladies in his booth, Mary Nell and her friend from the telephone company. Onie was at first a little flustered but managed to join the ladies and left the café with a date for that evening, attending the East Mountain Tigers football game to see Mary, and ended up taking her out to the malt shop after the game. The rest was history with 64 wonderful years of love and marriage, and time spent with wonderful friends they both loved so much. During those 64 years, Onie was one of the founding members of the East Mountain Volunteer Fire Department. Always feeling the call of serving others, he transitioned into a role as East Mountain City Marshall. Working with Uphsur County and becoming a Sherriff's Deputy, he then ran for Constable of his precinct, where he served multiple four-year terms. In 1995 the Upshur County Peace Officers Association named him "Officer of the Year" – an honor he was very proud of. These various roles were always in tandem with his employment at Texas Eastman, where he retired after 35 years. In 1970, a baby girl was blessed to be adopted by Onie and Mary, growing up the apple of her daddy's eye, even when it wasn't particularly deserved. He was many wonderful things but those all paled in comparison to being Dad and Papa. Onie is survived by his daughter, Ressa D'Lynn and her husband David, of Farmersville, grandsons Trevor and wife Taylor, Jeffery Cole, Tristan, and Cade. He was blessed to have and love two great-granddaughters, Ellis and Rainey. We hope you will join us for a memorial service in the coming weeks honoring both Onie and Mary – our intention is to celebrate lives so wonderfully lived and share with you the immense love we have in our hearts for them and memories we cherish.