Kenneth W. “Bunky” Holden
Retired Tewksbury Fire Dept. Captain and Public Servant
TEWKSBURY: Kenneth W. “Bunky” Holden, age 81, a lifelong Tewksbury resident, retired Captain of the Tewksbury Fire Department, and former stone mason, passed away at the Lowell General Hospital on Tuesday, October 3, 2017.
He was the beloved husband of Helen M. (Dunn) Holden, with whom he celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary on June 12, 2017.
Born in Lowell on November 24, 1935, he was the son of the late Roland Holden and the late Josephine (Briggs) Holden Zousimas.
Bunky attended Tewksbury schools and graduated from Tewksbury High School in 1953.
He began his 42 year career in public service as a Tewksbury Call Firefighter, later becoming a full-time firefighter and member of the Tewksbury Scuba Dive Rescue Team for the Tewksbury Fire Department until his retirement in 1990.
Bunky’s dedication to the Tewksbury community also included numerous years of service as a member of the Tewksbury Finance Committee, as a Library Trustee, as manager of the Tewksbury Federal Credit Union, and as a member of the Tewksbury Cemetery Board of Trustees.
He was an active communicant of St. William’s Church, where he served as a Eucharistic Minister, Lector, taught in the C.C.D. Program and facilitator for the Marriage Encounter Program.
He enjoyed furniture making, wood carving, and hosting barbecues for family and friends.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by seven children, Mark T. Holden and his wife Linda, Shelley M. Holden, AnnMarie Boucher and her husband Richard, all of Tewksbury, Deborah M. Vitali and her husband Anthony, of Raynham, Tewksbury Firefighter Timothy J. Holden and his wife Jennifer, of Chelmsford, James J. Holden and his wife Tracy, of Tewksbury, and William J. Holden and his wife Kelly, of Chelmsford; eighteen grandchildren, Andrew Holden, Kaila and Kelsey Crawley, Kenneth and Katherine Holden, Mack and Jimmy Boucher, Sarah, Anthony and Tyler Vitali, Lillian, Klara, James Jr., and Charles Holden, and Hunter, Maggie, Beckett and Wyatt Holden; siblings, Robert C. Briggs and his wife Linda, of Carolina Beach, NC, and Deanne McNabb and her husband Lee of Orland Park, IL; also many nieces, nephews and extended family members.
Bunky was the father of the late Patricia M. Crawley, who passed away on September 25, 1995, and brother of the late Randall Locke.
Calling hours are Sunday, Oct. 8, from 2-6 p.m. at the Farmer & Dee Funeral Home, 16 Lee St., Tewksbury. His funeral procession will begin on Monday, Oct. 9, at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home, followed by his Funeral Mass at 11:30 a.m. at St. William’s Church, 1351 Main St., Rte. 38, Tewksbury. Interment at Tewksbury Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Tewksbury Community Pantry, 999 Whipple Rd., Tewksbury, MA 01876 or Tewksbury Habitat Build, www.tewksburyhabitatbuild.org, c/o TD Bank, 995 Main Street, Tewksbury, MA 01876.