Elmer Vern Holt was best known as Vern. He was born on May 29,1919 in rural Dickinson County, Kansas the youngest of five boys of Walter and Mertie May (Sexton) Holt. His father died when Vern was only a few months old, his mother died during his senior year of high school. He credits his brothers with taking him in and helping him through those difficult years. He attended Sunny Side Grade School and Abilene High School. Vern served in the Navy during World War II as an Aviation Boatswain First Class. He enlisted in Kansas City, Missouri on May 4, 1944 and was honorably discharged on September 4, 1945 from San Diego, California. During his service years he was stationed in Farragut, Idaho; Norman, Oklahoma; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the state of Washington; and in California. He was a dedicated veteran who continued to serve his brothers after his discharge from the Navy. He was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars where he was a past commander. He was a member of the American Legion and the Disabled Veterans. Vern was very involved in providing medical equipment to disabled veterans through these organizations. In 1942, he married Marjorie Parsons and she preceded him in death in 1972. He married Lyda Johnson in 1973. She preceded him in death in 1997. He married Stella Leiszler in 1999 and she survives. Vern owned and operated Holt Motor Company until retirement. He worked for Everett Sexton as a young man and later worked on vehicles in the government shop in Abilene. He then worked for Potter Auto Repair in Abilene. In 1957, he moved to Cortez, Colorado where he partnered in an electrical shop. Returning to Abilene in 1958, he partnered in the Holt-Saulmon Motor Company. He was also a school bus driver and worked as a projectionist for the Strowig Theaters in Abilene. Vern was a member of the First Baptist Church, Abilene, where he served as a deacon, a trustee, and on several committees. He was a life member of the Kansas Good Sam RV Club where he served as Kansas state director from 1984 to 1988. As of this writing in May of 2005, his wife, Stella, resides in Abilene, Kansas as do his children Lynda Alstrom, Lois Diehl, and Norman Holt. His six step-children are Jim Johnson of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Terry Sue Johnson Longenecker of Gilbert, Arizona; Richard Leiszler of Emporia, Kansas; Janet Leiszler Whitehair of Abilene, Kansas; Joe Leiszler of Americus, Kansas; and Phyllis Leiszler Johnsen of Wesley Chapel, Florida.