William John “Billy” Holden
January 24, 1956 - August 4, 2024
William John Holden AKA Billy of Bristol, Pa. passed away on August 4, 2024 of a brain bleed. He was 68 years old. Billy is pre-deceased by his mother, Joyce Pray Holden, and his father, William E. Holden. He is survived by his sisters, Jacklyn (Mitch), Sheila (Glenn), Valoree (John), Kelly (Jimmy) & Tracy (Mike). He is also survived by his Aunt Karin & his beloved Aunt Gerl with whom he resided. Uncle Billy will also be sadly missed by his many nieces & nephews.
No one can say for sure, but its safe to say Billy came out guns a blazing…
He was a real one. A rebel with many causes. No fronts, He was who he was & made no apologies for it. If you gave respect, you got respect. Billy walked on the wild side & would have had it no other way. A cool cat known by a few different names such as Buggers & Box Car but those of us closest to him just call him Billy. Our Bro walked everywhere he went. He saw the world & a life full of escapades through the many miles under his boots.
When graduation from Bishop Egan high school was in question, administration made a call to our parents to ensure them that Billy would indeed be graduating because there was no chance they were allowing him back on their campus for another year. Lol.
So he walked the walk, got his diploma & set out to earn his degree in life. He for sure made a lot of bad choices on his path as we all do. Some small, some huge, some that cost him his freedom at times and some that we thought he may never recover from. Through it all what we learned is that he is a survivor. He’s been through it all. He’s been shot, stabbed, run over, lost his spleen and that’s not even a half of it. If we’re talking about living, Billy has lived a life most of us can’t even imagine. He’s rubbed shoulders with the best and the worst out there. His life has been quite a journey. He learned so many things… He taught himself about the law, which he studied intensely, mostly to get himself or someone he knew out of a bad situation. He’s been a plumber, a carpenter, a demolition guy, a rebuild guy, a car guy, a weed dealer & pretty much had every job out there. He had an excellent work ethic & He could pretty much do anything. He was a jack of all trades & the first person we all call when we needed help with anything.
Billy may have had a bit of a checkered past but he would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He didn’t judge because he’s been there. When you vented to him that’s where it stayed. He never had much but that’s because he never required much. But most of all he was a just a truly kind soul.
Life will never be the same without him. He is completely irreplaceable & I guarantee there will NEVER be another Billy. I’m just gonna look at this like he went on one of his long walks & he’ll be back someday. Until then, we’ll just look forward to our family get togethers where we reminisce over the stories from the life of a cool cat named Billy. 💔
Relatives and friends are invited to attend his Funeral Service on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, 12 noon at the Wade Funeral Home, 1002 Radcliffe Street, Bristol Borough. Interment, private. Friends may pay respects from 10:30am until time of Service.
Service Details
Visitation Hours
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
10:30AM-12:00PM
Wade Funeral Home
1002 Radcliffe St, Bristol, PA 19007
Funeral Service
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
12:00PM
Wade Funeral Home
1002 Radcliffe St, Bristol, PA 19007
In Memory of
William John “Billy” Holden
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Geraldine Facchiano shared a condolence
My best buddy. I am brokenhearted and will miss you forever. Ride on Billy ride on. Love you
8/7/2024
Jonann Sabatini shared a condolence
Jackie Sheila and the rest of the Holden Clan haven't seen you guys in so long what an amazing obituary you wrote for your brother I don't think he could have said it any better if he did it himself. He was one amazing person and he was so much fun when he was young I remember being at your house and your Dad yelling at him to do stuff LOL good old days one thing you can say about your brother he lived a fulfilling life and seemed happy all the time. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you girls and use we're all very lucky you had one amazing brother and great parents too
8/12/2024
Michael Marseglia shared a condolence
I want to say how truly sorry I am to hear about your brother bugger, you were certainly a good guy a good friend back in high school and very smart, to Jackie and all your sisters I'm very sorry. RIP Billy
8/8/2024
Andy Bedekovic shared a condolence
Billy my brother. So many good times. Started to cry sharing the news with your family, but ended up laughing at the shit we did together. Thank God for statutes of limitations. You were an amazing individual who never hit the brakes and never hit reverse. Our trips thru the steel belt from Pittsburgh to Milwaukee delivering steel will keep me smiling forever. You would see the prettiest girl in a bar and make a beeline for her. More times than not you did alright (other than the times we had to run for our lives leaving the bar). I love you brother. Sheila, Jackie, Val, Kelly, Tracy, Geraldine, my heartfelt love and condolences. there will never be another like our sadly missed brother. RIP Brother Billy.
8/12/2024
Janet McElrath Hartnett shared a condolence
Rest in Peace Billy. My condolences to your family.🙏🙏
8/8/2024
Robert Kostaras shared a condolence
Bill was one of the good hearted people i have ever met. Always looking out for those he cared about and would do anything you out. Billy, you will be missed more than you can possibly imagine. Good bye Brother, till we meet again.
8/8/2024
Frank Toth shared a condolence
I luved Buggers from the first time we met in Egan n he was your gangsta’s gangsta. N everybody had fun when Billy was around. I seen him once walking n I asked him if he needed a ride but he said he was fine n didn’t mind walking. We hung around for awhile n boy did We party. I will never forget Billy “Buggers” Holden R.i.P Brother
8/23/2024