Robert T. Holt, 85, business owner

Robert Terrence "Terry" Holt, 85, of Audubon, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and business owner, died of heart failure July 23 at Montgomery Hospital in Norristown.

During World War II, Mr. Holt served in the Army in the Panama Canal Zone and witnessed the midnight transfer of the Atlantic Battle Fleet to the Pacific after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Later, he was a bombardier and navigator in the Army Air Force in Italy and flew 52 missions in B-17s. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters.

After his discharge, he was a coal miner in his native West Virginia before earning a bachelor's degree from Duke University, where he met his future wife, Jean Rogers. He then earned a law degree from the University of Florida and practiced law in Norristown. During the Korean War, he was called back to active duty in the Air Force and served as a judge advocate.

After retiring from the military in 1970, he was a partner in a plumbing and heating business in Norristown. In 1973 he bought Mobile Lifts Inc. in Jeffersonville, a truck-equipment supplier. His wife and son Robert "Jack" continue to operate the company, which is now in Collegeville. While operating his business, Mr. Holt maintained a law practice and offered pro bono work to the community, including to the Women's Center in Norristown.

He served on the Norristown Area School Board in the 1970s and on the Montgomery County Historical Advisory Board. As president of the Friends of Audubon's Mill Grove, he was involved in the acquisition of a 41-acre tract south of the John James Audubon Sanctuary.

He was a Mason and a member of the Norristown Rotary Club and of the Thomas Paine Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Eagleville.

Mr. Holt enjoyed travel and studying foreign languages. He loved folk music, said his daughter, Virginia, and played the fiddle and the guitar into his 80s despite increasing deafness due to his war service.

In addition to his wife of 60 years, daughter, and son, Mr. Holt is survived by son Miles; a brother; three sisters; and four grandchildren. He was predeceased by son John.

A memorial service will be scheduled for the fall. Mr. Holt donated his body to science.

Memorial donations may be made to the John James Audubon Sanctuary at Mill Grove, 1201 Pawlings Rd., Audubon, Pa. 19403.