Parker Vincent Holden

Parker Vincent Holden, a career engineer, intellect, and dedicated father, mentor, and lifelong Pacific Northwest outdoorsman, passed away peacefully at his home in Olympia, Washington, on August 28, 2026, at the age of 86.

Born in Yakima, Washington, on September 5, 1939, to Don Holden and Fay Vincent, Parker grew up a Boy Scout and loved mountain climbing and outdoor activities. When his father returned home from the Aleutian Islands after WWII (fresh from ski patrolling for Japanese hot air balloon attacks), Parker began a life of adventures including Nordic skiing, cross country skiing, and intense multiple night backpacking trips with the family, friends, and even solo. At just 15 years old, against all wishes of his mother, he achieved a milestone that defined his lifelong grit: successfully scaling the 14,410-foot summit of Mount Rainier in 1954. He was instrumental in the foundational years and remained a proud, lifelong member of the Olympia Ski Club at White Pass, spending decades helping build and improve the lodge, and enjoying the social aspects of the club.

Parker pursued his academic passions at Washington State University (WSU), in Pullman: graduating with a degree in business. His college summers and early career he worked for the Forest Service and was in the US Military Reserves. He launched his career with Boeing before transitioning into his true passion: electrical and other advanced engineering. His early career involved work at Boundary and The Dallas Hydroelectric Dams, then transitioning primarily into the heavy industrial sector and paper manufacturing. His technical brilliance excelled at PWT in Ridgefield Washington, then moving to Port Angeles, Washington, with Crown Zellerbach, James River Corp, and Daishowa (the last telephone directory paper manufactured in North America). In the late 1980s, as Chief Engineer, Parker achieved a career pinnacle by successfully leading the monumental Number 2 paper mill rebuild, an engineering feat that stood as a benchmark for the regional industry. Believing fiercely in the Quality vs Quantity of Technical Skill Development, Parker dedicated significant career energy to recruiting, mentoring, and shaping young talent, especially from the Perry Technical Institute in Yakima.

His dedication to his family was not the typical Dad playing ball with his kids, but his passion to help them with construction, remodeling, engineering, and insistence to DO IT RIGHT / make his work last for Centuries and avoid Black Boxes if at all possible. Examples: industrial wiring and redundancy systems for residential applications, custom hot tubs, chairlifts, off grid electrical & water systems (Johns Island in the San Juan’s), even building a pitching machine & automated ball feeder in the 1980s (completely from scratch) with 95+ mph velocity & curves/sliders with micro inch accuracy that to this day is rare to find).

His mastery eventually took him to the global stage with Stothert Management of Vancouver, BC, where he was assigned as a key project engineer and ex patriot for Southern Paper Mills (SPM) project in the remote Mgololo Valley of Tanzania, East Africa, followed by Lamtrac, a Norwegian engineering consulting firm in Dar es Salaam. After his Tanzania work, Parker returned to the USA and had a variety of jobs including in Marathon, Ontario, Kalamazoo Michigan, Mississippi, Camas WA & Newport Oregon. He also has work in Russia and for Google server energy backup systems farms in Belgium, and even Micro hydroelectric projects in Stehekin / North Lake Chelan, WA.

Parker met Mary Arlene (Bibi) Leonard on the Spokane / Whitefish, Montana train while in route to skiing. On September 23, 1967, he married Mary, sharing 47 beautiful years of adventure, extensive overseas travel, and family until her passing in 2015. Together, they raised three children: Kevin, Kerry, and Karl. Parker found joy and companionship once again when he met Sylvia, whom he married in 2019, filling his final years with love, comfort, and shared memories at their home in Olympia. He is survived by his wife, Sylvia; his three children: Kevin (Suzanne), Kerry (Jon Geffen and Karl (Sipho), seven grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Parker is preceded by his sister Priscilla Hagen of Lake Oswego, Oregon. The family requests that any memorial tributes be made to Perry Technical Institute in Yakima Washington, or the Olympia Ski Club.