Aug. 26, 1927 - Dec. 16, 2007
DAWSON -- George Francis Holan, 80, of Dawson died Sunday at the Johnson Memorial Home in Dawson.
The service will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. James Catholic Church in Dawson. Burial will be in St. James Catholic Cemetery in rural Dawson.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. today, with a prayer service at 7, at the Hanson & Dahl Funeral Home in Dawson.
He was born on Aug. 26, 1927, in Minnesota Lake to Joseph and Mina (Hendrickson) Holan. He attended two different rural schools and graduated in 1945 from Wells High School. He served in the U.S. Navy during high school and then was in active service from August of 1945 to July of 1946. In the service he attended special training in radio electronics.
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After the service he trained in electronics in Chicago for one year. He worked on the farm at Minnesota Lake and part-time jobs at a canning factory, radio/television repair shop and on road construction. In 1950, he moved to Dawson with his parents and continued to work on the farm and later took over the farm. He started working with guns, where he did rebluing, restocking, along with repairing. At this time, he rented out his farm, while still doing farm work for neighbors. He suffered a debilitating stroke in 2004, and spent the last three and a half years at the Johnson Memorial Home.
He taught gun safety for 30 years with the local gun clubs. He was a member of St. James Catholic Church.
He is survived by two brothers: Jim (and Lori) Holan of Madison, John (and Janice) Holan of Mounds View; three sisters: Marian (and Clarence) Weckwerth of Wells, Mildred Anderson of Albert Lea, and Betty Holan of Austin.
He was preceded in death by a sister.
