07/10/2025
Obituary For Dan Wayne Holbrook
Dan Holbrook was born in 1945 in rural Idaho, where ranching ran deep on both sides of his family. He began his education in a one-room schoolhouse without indoor plumbing, a feature that wasn’t added until he was in sixth grade. His early years were marked by frequent moves, living on a dairy farm, a chicken farm, and later on land farmed by draft horses in northeast Washington, before eventually settling near Portland.
During his high school years, Dan developed a lifelong passion for athletics. He competed in wrestling, tennis, and cross-country, and found joy in mountain climbing, skiing, and biking—activities that remained essential to his physical and mental well-being throughout his life.
Dan attended Oregon State University, where he majored in Forestry. To pay for his education, he worked summers as a logger and during the school year at a plywood mill and as a bus driver. He graduated in 1969 with a degree in science education and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He went on to serve as a helicopter pilot and maintenance officer in Vietnam. After his military service, he settled in an artistic mining town in Arizona, where he bought a $2,500 home and lived simply, exploring desert canyons and medicinal herbs, while taking hitchhiking trips across the U.S. and Canada.
Five years later, Dan and a friend purchased 40 acres of land in rural Mendocino County and built an off-grid home using hand tools—including digging and casing a well. The property near Round Valley remains in the family and is now enjoyed by his children and grandchildren. During this time, Dan also began his 32-year teaching career in the Covelo schools.
In 1978, Dan met Charlene, and they began a partnership that would span 45 years. Together, they raised their daughters, Ruth and Lia. In 1990, the family moved abroad to teach at international schools, which took them to the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia. They traveled widely, exploring Europe in a VW camper, skiing the Alps, snorkeling in the Red Sea, driving through Turkey and Greece, and hiking through Asian rainforests. After nine years overseas, they returned to California and settled in Ukiah, where they put down deep roots.
In retirement, Dan and Charlene continued their travels, camping and hiking through national and state parks in their 13-foot Scamp trailer. Dan, ever curious, deepened his lifelong interests in geology, archaeology, and anthropology.
At the age of 79, Dan was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Though this marked the end of his traveling adventures, he faced the diagnosis with introspection and embraced the quietude of his final months. Surrounded by Charlene, Ruth, and Lia, Dan passed peacefully at home.
The Holbrook family extends its heartfelt thanks to Adventist Health Ukiah Valley, the Veteran’s Administration, UCSF Hospital, Hospice of Ukiah, and the California End of Life Option Act.
