Dr. Norman E. Holden

Dr. Norman E. Holden, a nuclear physicist, Suffolk County Track Official, loving husband, father of nine, and grandfather of twelve, passed away on Wednesday, August 17 th , at his home in Shoreham, surrounded by his wife Gail and many of his children. He was 86, and eight-days shy of his sixtieth wedding anniversary. Norman was born February 1 st , 1936, to Edward and Marie Holden at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, Queens. He spent much of his early life in Brooklyn, with his older brother Kenneth, cheering for the Dodgers. As a teenager, he took a job as an usher at Loew’s King Theater. This led to a life-long love of movies, and an uncanny knack of remembering film titles and the actors and actresses who starred in them. Norman attended Brooklyn Prep and Fordham University, where he earned his BS in Physics. He finished his studies at Catholic University in Washington, DC, earning his PhD in Nuclear Physics. If asked, he would say he was far prouder of earning the love and hand in marriage of Gail Rafferty during his tenure at Catholic University. During the sixties, Norman worked at Knolls Atomic Power Lab (KAPL) in Ballston Spa, NY, after completing his time in the Air Force. In addition to creating several versions of the Chart of the Nuclides with his colleagues, he was tasked with engineering duties for Admiral Rickover’s Nuclear Navy. Interestingly, he helped develop the same nuclear reactor that powered the USS Oklahoma City SSN-723, the submarine that carried his son Greg around the world during his time in the Navy, some twenty-five years later. In the early seventies, he had a calling to do more pure physics and accepted a position at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, NY. From 1974 until his retirement, Norman worked at the National Nuclear Data Center, and then directly at the Reactor on site. During this time, starting in the early seventies, Norman began his affiliation with International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, (IUPAC), specifically with the Commission on Atomic Weights. His expertise in atomic weights led to his being voted to the commission board as Secretary, Vice Chairman, and finally Chairman of the Atomic Weights Committee from 1979-1983. Upon his “retirement” in 2001, he was given (by BNL) a small office, computer, and phone with which he could carry on his work with IUPAC for many years. A perk that he enjoyed with his almost fifty-year relationship with IUPAC was that he and his wife had the opportunity to travel the world, and he visited every continent save Antarctica. Norman was involved with so many different clubs, committees, and activities outside of work that he ended up meeting quite a few people. It was often remarked that he couldn’t travel anywhere without knowing someone in the vicinity. Wherever he went, Norman was often the smartest person in the room, yet he’d never let anyone know it, and he had an outstanding way of relating to all different types of people. Some of those who loved him most were his twelve grandchildren. Norman would travel with his kids and grandkids, touring different states and venues, always able to make trips fun and educational. Perhaps due to his large family, he would stockpile food and non-perishables in the garage and basement when his coupon clipping gave him the best deals. He had to make sure there was enough to go around for his eleven-member family. His kids would often tease him and treat his garage like a free grocery store when leaving to go back to college, but they mimicked his method of purchasing extra toilet paper and paper towels as adults and it served them well during Covid! Love comes in many forms and giving time to others is one example. Norman distinguished himself in this way with his immersion into his children’s lives through the sports with which they became involved. Despite being unable to swim, when his kids joined a swim team, he learned the rules, took a test, and became a swim official. He also became a baseball manager for their Little League teams, and in the early eighties, just as soccer really began to burst onto America’s radar, he signed up to be a soccer coach (another sport that he had never seen or played). But his true passion was rekindled when his daughters became involved with Track and Field. Norm discovered his own love of running at an early age and excelled at cross country and distance running in track for Brooklyn Prep. He had a personal best mile of 4:16 right around the time Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile. He continued his running career at Fordham University. Norm signed up to become a Suffolk County Track Official and officiated for over 30 years, only stopping when Covid shut down high school athletics in 2020. During his tenure as an official, he served as the Vice President, then President of the Girls Association and as the Rules Interpreter for both the Boys and the Girls Associations. Norm was outgoing and jovial, and he enjoyed the job, athletes, coaches and colleagues so much that shortly everybody knew his name, reminiscent of the television show, “Cheers.” Students, coaches, and fellow officials alike would shout his name as he walked onto the track. Cascades of “Norm!” would reign down upon him, and he always had a smile on his face. In an expression of true altruism and interest in his community, Norm ran for and was elected to the Board of Education in Shoreham-Wading River, serving as a member from 1980-1992. One perk of his service was that he was afforded the opportunity to be on stage and to hand out the empty diploma cases that each graduate received prior to getting their actual diploma in the mail. Norm gave each of his children their case, often with a clever note enclosed. “Perhaps if you studied a bit more, this wouldn’t be empty!” was one funny example. Another passion of Norman’s was cooking. Family and friends would be treated to their favorite “comfort food” when they visited, returned from college, or stopped by on an ordinary Saturday night. Chicken Curry, San Francisco Pork Chops, and his famous Spaghetti and Meatballs with garlic bread won rave reviews, and even received the seal of approval from his Italian nephew and nieces! What didn’t always receive warm praise was his sense of humor regarding food. As his kids were growing up, he found it hilarious to put food coloring in their milk on different holidays. So, there would be green milk in cereal for St. Patty’s Day, pink milk for Valentine’s Day, orange milk for Halloween, black milk for April’s Fools’ Day, etc. Norman is survived by his wife Gail; his children Sean (Jan), Kristen, Maurisa (John Minogue), Greg (Arean), Megan (Kenny Bohan), Alyse (Mike McNiff), Keith (Anja), Kathleen (Greg Mazur), and Kevin; his twelve grandchildren; his brother Kenneth, his sister-in-law Christine Foley, and his six nieces and nephews

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