Jon B. Holman

Jon Barstow Holman, 89, of Lenexa, Kansas, passed away on Monday, June 5, 2023.

He was born on December 15, 1933, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Marion Dale and Hazel (Barstow) Holman.

Jon was raised in Larned, Kansas, near the Barstow homestead, among the farms of his many uncles and aunts. In 1941, as he entered the 3rd grade, his family moved to Lakeland, Florida, where his father served as a civilian flight instructor during the war. Spending his formative years among the lakes and citrus groves of central Florida fostered an enduring love of bass fishing and fresh oranges. He recalled many reprimands from his mother when he and his brother David returned home covered in muck from swimming in the canals or sticky head to toe from a protracted battle, with overly-ripe oranges serving as handy projectiles.

The family returned to Larned where Jon spent his junior and senior years of high school.
There he warmed the bench when Larned took the state basketball championship in 1950. But the following year he found glory when he represented Larned on the 2-man and 4-man golf teams that won the state championships.

During the summers he worked as a soda jerk at a local pharmacy. That experience led to his enrolling at KU to become a pharmacist, as well as a lasting appreciation for a fresh, handcrafted limeade.

His time at KU was interrupted when, as a 20-year-old junior, he contracted paralytic polio not long before the first vaccines were introduced. After nearly two years of rehabilitation in Larned and then Lakeland, Jon was prepared to return to Lawrence to continue his pharmacy studies. Jon's mother skillfully persuaded David to give him his brand new 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible (blue with a white top) to support his mobility. After they fitted the car with hand controls, Jon and his parents drove that beauty from Florida to Kansas, where Jon overcame his trepidation and completed his degree.

Jon worked as a pharmacist but quickly tired of being on his feet all day and, in his words, selling pills, candy, and jockstraps. He needed a challenge. Just weeks later he applied to KU medical school and was quickly accepted.

At the KU Medical Center, he demonstrated to his instructors that his disability was not an obstacle. During his rotations, he met Bonnie, a young staff nurse. Bonnie brought Jon countless cups of coffee before he finally got the message and asked her out. Jon and Bonnie married in 1962 and began their life and family together.

Jon found his vocation in psychiatry. After residency, he served at the Johnson County Mental Health Center before being persuaded to open a private practice in Salina, Kansas. Often the only psychiatrist in the region, Jon became a jack of all trades to meet the needs of the community. Any given day might include counseling children, adults, and couples, evaluating hospital patients, supporting people suffering from substance abuse, appearing at the courthouse, or simply offering gentle support to anyone who just needed someone to listen.

Jon and Bonnie lived in Salina for nearly two decades, where they raised their three children. Jon was always a hands-on father. Ahead of his time in the era when many women, like Bonnie, began pursuing or continuing their careers, Jon was involved in all aspects of raising his kids. He could carry a baby on a hip while herding the others with one of his canes. He often took charge of getting the kids to school, to their activities, or to church.

Jon and Bonnie returned to the Kansas City area after their children finished high school and left home. Jon completed the last stage of his career as the Medical Director at the Johnson County Mental Health Center.

Even after polio limited his mobility, Jon still avidly enjoyed golf, as well as fishing trips with his brother David and his much loved brother-in-law Ron. A competitive bridge player from college, Jon earned Life Master status while playing in tournaments in the Kansas City area and beyond.

Jon never knew a stranger. At the restaurants Jon and Bonnie frequented, on the golf course, at the barber, or even the car wash, he was on a first-name basis with everyone. People knew his face and recognized his gait. They loved his smile and relished his open-hearted spirit, his honesty, and his integrity.

Jon is survived by his children, Emily, Matthew, and Sally; sons-in-law, Paul and Phillip; brother David of Blue Ridge, Georgia; brother-in-law, Sammy Jo Finley and wife Donna of Sand Springs, Oklahoma; sister-in-law, Virginia Hiatt of Olathe, KS; Jon's warmth will be remembered by his nine grandchildren, Maeve, Fiona, and Aidan; Lucas and Noah; Loretta, Burke, Petey, and Solomon.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Bonnie; brother-in-law, Ronald Hiatt; sister-in-law Janet Sue Holman; brothers-in-law Phillip Bruce Finley and Robert Wallace Finley.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Jon's memory be made to UNICEF (https://www.unicefusa.org/), to support their continuing efforts to eradicate polio.




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