VERGENNES — William Rich Holway, 89, of Vergennes, died Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, at his home in Vergennes. He had resided with Gary and Elaine Russell for many years.
He was born July 22, 1931, in Rutland, Vt. The son of Raymond and Kathryn Holway, he attended Rutland High School, Vilas School in Alstead, N.H., and Mt. Herman in Maine. Following high school, Bill hitchhiked across the United States twice, working at various jobs, from working in a mental institution to acting in a play whose main character was Vincent Price.
Bill attended UCLA, Tufts University and Rhode Island School of Design. He returned to Vermont and became well known for his sculptures in wood and marble. His carvings included rocking horses for the family, eagles for Kennedy Brothers Woodenware, puppets, and even Noah’s Ark with all the animals. He was one of the original craftsmen at the Vermont State Craft Center at Frog Hollow in Middlebury.
Bill worked at Kennedy Brothers in Vergennes for many years practicing his speed drawings from memory. He had developed a system of stylized drawing, which he often taught and passed along to others. He could fill a page with several horses, faces or bodies within a matter of minutes, all by memory. In the last few years you might have seen Bill drawing at McDonald’s in Middlebury.
Bill roamed the country and the state of Vermont by hitchhiking most of his life. He hiked Route 7 for many years, making many new friends or reconnecting with old ones. He more recently traveled by the ACTR buses. Many thanks to all those drivers that watched over our Bill with the bright orange hat. If you ever met Bill you most likely remember it. He was a wonderful, unique man, admired by many.
A graveside service will be held in Barnard on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 2 p.m. To send online condolences to his family visit brownmcclayfuneralhomes.com.◊