Walter Daniel Holland, 74, passed away on November 18, 2023 in Medfield, Massachusetts.
Mr. Holland, affectionately known as Danny and Dan, was born on May 2, 1949 in Boston to Elvernoy Goode Holland and Walter Holland. He was raised in Cambridge where he attended St. Paul School and served as an altar boy at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Harvard Square.
The oldest of four siblings, Danny graduated from Cambridge Rindge Technical High School and later attended Boston State College — now the University of Massachusetts-Boston — where he graduated in 1973. He worked as a librarian first at the Cambridge Public Library and embarked on a three-decade career as a librarian at Hayden Library at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he was well liked and respected by his colleagues and students alike.
Danny met the love his life, Margaret “Peggy,” Murch, whom he married in 1985. They enjoyed attending Smokey Robinson concerts, Red Sox games, and traveling to New Hampshire on vacation where Danny enjoyed fishing. He would catch the fish and release them back into the water. Danny was a gentle spirit who enjoyed spending time with family and friends. A huge Red Sox fan, he often updated his mother, another Red Sox fan, on the game schedule. He was also a big fan of Westerns. Danny was quite a gardener as well and each year would help his mother prepare her garden for the season.
He leaves to cherish his memories his wife, Margaret “Peggy” of Medfield, MA; his mother, Elvernoy Holland of Cambridge, MA; and his siblings Sherman David Holland of Providence, RI, Elvernoy “Albie” Johnson and her husband, Ronald “Ron” Johnson of Weston, MA; and Coria “Cora” Holland of Everett, MA; his niece, Maiah Johnson Dunn, and her husband, Andy, of Rochester, NY; his nephew, Malik Holland-Fofana, of Everett, MA; and a whole host of nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, in-laws, and friends.
His funeral service will be held on Saturday, November 25 in the Ginley Funeral Home of Franklin (www.ginleyfuneralhomes.com) 131 Main Street, Franklin at 1:00p.m.
Burial will be held in Union Street Cemetery, Franklin at a later date.
Visitation will be on Saturday, November 25 from 11:00-1:00p.m.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made in his memory to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute 22 Patriot Place, Foxboro, Ma 02035.