Laurence “Larry” Holuba

Funeral services for LAURENCE G. “LARRY” HOLUBA, 92, Lawrence, KS will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at Warren-McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence.  Burial will follow at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence. He died on Saturday, February 28, 2009 at Pioneer Ridge Retirement Community in Lawrence.

He was born on July 7, 1916 in St. George, Kansas, the son of Joseph & Jessie Gard Holuba. He grew up in Manhattan, KS and graduated from Manhattan High School. 

Mr. Holuba attended Kansas State University before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1943. He was a veteran of World War II in the European theatre.  He was involved in the D-Day invasion on Normandy Beach in France with the 4th Infantry Division and was awarded the Silver Star (21 June 1944 France), Bronze Star (26 July 1944 France, Germany & Luxembourg) and the Purple Heart (22 June 1944), after being wounded.  Although first enlisting in the Army, he was later sent to Officer’s Candidate School at Ft. Gordon, GA.  He was a First Lieutenant when he was honorably discharged in December 1945.

He was a retired rural mail carrier.  He had worked for the US Postal Service in Lawrence from the early 1950s until his retirement in 1973.  He worked as a funeral assistant at Warren-McElwain Mortuary from 1974-1985. He moved to Lawrence following WWII to work for Montgomery Wards.

Mr. Holuba was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (N.A.R.F.E).  For many years, he was an avid reader, golfer, wood craftsman, traveler, and fisherman. He had also volunteered for several years as an escort at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

He married Mabel Cobb on February 8, 1943 in Lawrence.  She preceded him in death on September 6, 1998.

Survivors include a sister-in-law and brother-in-law by marriage, along with several nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the mortuary. 

The family suggests memorials in his name to the Trinity Lutheran Church and may be sent in care of the mortuary.