| Obituary in the Press Herald |
NEW GLOUCESTER – William “Bill” Holmquist, 63, passed away peacefully on May 3, 2023, surrounded by his family, after a courageous battle with cancer.
Bill was born to Wayne and Anita Holmquist in Farmington on May 12, 1959. He was raised in Gray and attended Gray-New Gloucester schools where he met his high school sweetheart, Sarah. He graduated high school in 1977 and continued studying business at Westbrook College. Throughout high school and college, he worked for the family business, Heritage Metal Craft, owned by his father, Wayne. In 1981, he married Sarah and moved into their home in Gray, where he and his brother Carl did a lot of the construction themselves. Over the next few years, Bill would continue to work, start a family, and complete his bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from USM in 1988.
He worked for several Fortune 500 companies in the Portland area, including National Semiconductor, Nichols Portland, and EM Solutions. During his career, he was a process improvement expert. He loved to break down processes, find gaps and inefficiencies and implement better ways of doing things. After a successful career in manufacturing, he transitioned his expertise into his own business. He and his partner Scott opened Goin’ Postal in May of 2004 in Auburn and quickly expanded to Norway. Once both locations started to gain some momentum they decided to operate independently. Bill took on the Norway store where the community has held a special place in his heart. He took great care of his customers by providing trusted honest advice and was always looking out for their best interests. This trusted service he provided not only earned their business but also created many friendships where people would often stop in just to say hello.
Bill’s family meant everything to him, and his adventurous personality would lead them on many adventures. He and Sarah took their children on many road trips all up and down the East Coast, including yearly trips to North Conway, N.H. which have been a special part of their family’s lives. Camping trips were also an important aspect of the many adventures with Bill. There were typically two trips a year: once to Glen Ellis and once to Bar Harbor accompanied by friends and family. Bill would lead the pack hiking and biking on these trips, sometimes going off-trail or getting the group into thrilling scenarios like finding sheer ledges or steep inclines/declines. He would always say it was part of the adventure, and reminiscing back he would shrug and say “Yeah, maybe that was a bit sketchy, but it was fun wasn’t it!?”
No matter what the situation was, Bill always did everything with a positive attitude, a smile on his face, and kindness in his heart.
He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Sarah; his son, Trevor Holmquist and wife Sarah, daughter, Kelsey and her husband Eric Douglass; grandchildren Anthony and Gabriella Douglass, Brooklyn and Jacoby Holmquist, as well as two more on the way, both due in July. He is also survived by his mother, Anita Holmquist of Raymond; brother, Carl Holmquist and wife Shelly of Gray, sister-in-law, Kathi Skilling and husband Bruce of Gray, brother-in-law, Andy Blais and wife Becky of New Gloucester; as well as many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his father, Wayne Holmquist of Raymond; as well as his in-laws Ron and Rachelle Blais of Gray.
The family would like to thank New England Cancer Specialists of Scarborough for their caring and compassionate care. Dr. Winters and his team’s aggressive approach helped extend his life and they fought hard using cutting-edge lymphoma treatment. They would also like to thank the physicians and staff at the Gibson Unit at Maine Medical Center for their exceptional care during his chemotherapy treatments.
A graveside service will be held at 9 a.m., May 20, in Gray Cemetery. A memorial gathering will be held 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., May 20 at Wilson Funeral Home, Gray.
— Read the obituary at this link.
