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

In Memory of
William John “Billy” Holden

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