Background
William was born on June 20, 1917, in Philadelphia of Mark Sr. and Isabel Boyle Holt and attended South Philadelphia High.
William was born on June 20, 1917, in Philadelphia of Mark Sr. and Isabel Boyle Holt and attended South Philadelphia High.
At age 16, during the Great Depression, went to work to support his family. Mr. Holt had worked for Capital Glass at 16th and Summer Streets and left the company to start his own auto glass business. In April 1938, he rented a storefront next to Pep Boys in the 1400 block of West Passyunk Avenue, using his own $125 as start-up money. In 1939, Atlas Auto Glass moved to 1726 W. Passyunk Avenue and Father Francis Roseboro, Vicar of the Episcopal Church of St. Elisabeth lent Mr. Holt the funds to purchase equipment. During World War Two, Mr. Holt worked as an Outside Machinist at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, usually ten hours a day, six days a week until the end of the war. In 1966, Mr. Holt and his brother Clement purchased the property next door and expanded the auto glass business. All three brothers, William, Mark, and Clement, worked together and had lunch with their mother every day, until their retirements in 1995. Mr. Holt was the devoted father of Robert, William J., and Bruce. He had two grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He was an avid follower of current events, Civil War history, economics, and the stock market.