Former U.S. Rep. Tim Holden, a Saint Clair Democrat who represented Schuylkill County in Congress for two decades, died Saturday. He was 69.
Holden’s public life lasted nearly 40 years. It took him from the Schuylkill County Sheriff’s Office to Capitol Hill, and then to the chairmanship of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
“Tim was everybody’s Congressman,” former Schuylkill County Commissioner Mantura Gallagher said. “When you attended his fundraisers, there were people there from all walks of life, and they were all true supporters of Tim Holden.”
Gallagher recalled working a phone bank during one of Holden’s campaigns.
“When I would ask for whom the person planned to vote, nine times out of 10, they did not reply with ‘Tim Holden.’ They would simply say, ‘Timmy,'” she said.
“Today Schuylkill County lost a lion. He was a proud Blue Dog Democrat and respected by all parties,” Schuylkill County Democratic Party Chairman Todd Zimmerman said. “Personally, I was not active with the party when Tim was in Congress, but I know he was always loyal to the county party. My thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.”
Rachel Wallace, who ran for Congress this year as the Democratic candidate, got her start in public life working for Holden.
“Schuylkill County lost one of our best today. Tim Holden was a rare public servant, honest to a fault, who always put our communities and our country first,” Wallace said. “In true Schuylkill County fashion, Tim never forgot where he came from or acted like he was better than others. He would help anyone, regardless of what party they were in, how wealthy they were, or who their parents were.”
“I know this because when I met Tim, I was a clueless 18-year-old from a very ordinary Pottsville family that was also 100% Republican,” she said. “Tim hired me anyway, giving me an internship and then hiring me after college. He was a wonderful mentor to me, especially in this past year.”
“Tim will be remembered for his lifetime of service and all he did for our farmers, our fire companies, and our men and women in uniform. We owe him a great deal. He will be greatly missed,” Wallace said.
“I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former Congressman Tim Holden. Respected across party lines, Tim was a champion of bipartisanship who believed in finding common ground,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, a Republican who now represents Schuylkill County in Congress. “As one of the original Blue Dogs, he encouraged cooperation across the aisle and served our region with honor and integrity.”
“He will be missed, but his legacy of service will live on in the communities he represented. My prayers are with his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him,” Meuser said.
Holden was elected Schuylkill County sheriff in 1985, at age 28. His congressional biography called him the youngest person ever to hold the office and the youngest sheriff in Pennsylvania. Before that, he worked as a county probation officer and as sergeant-at-arms for the state House of Representatives.
Retired Schuylkill County Sheriff Joe Groody was an Ashland police officer when Holden was first elected sheriff. He said the borough police department and the sheriff’s office worked together to promote the Elks drug awareness program around the area.
“Tim was more than just a friend to me. He was a mentor and helped inspire me to run for the office of sheriff,” Groody said. “After I won my first election, he continued to help and support me throughout my career, helping me to be the county’s longest-serving sheriff.”
“Our friendship grew into a brotherhood. He would have done anything for me, and he knew I was always there for him,” Groody said. “Whenever we called each other or met up in public, I always called him ‘Sheriff.’ He will be greatly missed by everyone, as he did many things for this county as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
He left the sheriff’s office after he was elected to Congress in 1992. From 1993 to 2003, he represented the 6th Congressional District, which was based in Reading and included Berks and Schuylkill counties.
Pennsylvania lost two congressional seats after the 2000 census, and in 2002 Holden won the newly drawn 17th District by defeating longtime Republican Rep. George Gekas. That district covered Schuylkill, Dauphin, and Lebanon counties, along with parts of Perry and Berks counties.
Holden served 10 terms. He sat on the House Agriculture Committee from 1993 on and was its vice chairman from 2007 to 2011. He joined the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in 1997. During his last term, he was dean of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.
Schuylkill County Commissioner Boots Hetherington, a Republican, said his political differences with Holden never got in the way.
“We were different in politics, but that only mattered on Election Day,” Hetherington said. “Tim was very supportive of agriculture. We agreed on right to life and on the Second Amendment. He did a great job representing not only Pennsylvania but the Northeast. He was very popular. You don’t vote for the party. You vote for the person.”
Hetherington said Holden toured the Hetherington farm with U.S. Department of Agriculture representatives and always championed the conservation work Hetherington supported.
“He was a good friend. I’m glad to say I was a friend of his,” Hetherington said.
His time in Congress ended in 2013. Redistricting had shifted the 17th District to the northeast, and he lost the 2012 Democratic primary to Matt Cartwright.
Republican Gov. Tom Corbett nominated Holden to the Liquor Control Board in June 2013, and the state Senate confirmed him unanimously that November. Gov. Tom Wolf named him chairman on Feb. 17, 2015. The Senate confirmed him for new terms in 2016 and 2020, and he led the three-member board until his term expired Nov. 21, 2024. While he chaired the PLCB, he also served a year as chairman of the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association.
When Holden left the board, Gov. Josh Shapiro praised his “lifetime of honorable and dignified service.”
State Sen. Dave Argall, a Republican who ran against Holden for the 17th District seat in 2010, said Holden served the county in all three roles.
“Tim Holden served Schuylkill County well for many years, as our Sheriff, our Congressman, and as the PLCB Chairman,” Argall said. “He helped a lot of people whenever he could.”
“This is a very sad and dark day for Schuylkill County. Tim Holden was loved and respected by everyone,” State Rep. Jamie Barton said. “Whether he was the County Sheriff, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, or a U.S. Congressman, Tim Holden never had to be reminded who he served or where his home was. He will be sorely missed.”
Former State Rep. Mike Tobash, a Republican who represented the 125th Legislative District from 2011 to 2020, called Holden a model of bipartisanship.
“If you talk about people you can work across the aisle with, Tim Holden was the epitome of that. He became a friend,” Tobash said. “The amazing things he did for the region are appreciated by everybody. He was one of the most gracious political figures that I ever met.”
Former State Rep. Tim Seip, a Democrat who represented the 125th Legislative District from 2007 to 2010, remembered hearing Holden, then the sheriff, tell Olympic gold medalist Anita Nall at the Mary D fire company in 1992 that she would be made an honorary Schuylkill County deputy sheriff.
“Tim was personable, personified,” Seip said. “He was always able to connect with anyone at the firefighter block party or the church breakfast or the gun club or the county transportation meeting, or when introducing the president of the United States.”
Seip recalled Holden introducing former President Bill Clinton at Girardville Borough Council President Charlie Marquardt’s house in 2008 and sharing a story about a diplomatic visit to Ireland before they walked the St. Patrick’s Day parade route.
“Congressman Holden was truly a human bridge from Schuylkill County to the rest of the world,” Seip said. He said constituents’ calls for help overseas often led to a call to Holden.
“Tim Holden always came through for our shared constituents, once following an earthquake in Peru to make contact and reassure a mother that her son was well, and once to expedite a soldier’s return from war in Iraq for his mother’s funeral,” Seip said.
Seip credited Holden with bringing federal money back to the county for improvements on Route 61 and for the intermodal center in Pottsville, and with making sure local workers and union tradespeople had jobs building the center. He said Holden led the coordination among Seip’s office, then-Gov. Ed Rendell, then-Mayor John D.W. Reiley, and City Council.
“In addition to his policymaking acumen, Tim Holden was a friend and mentor that I was privileged to work with during my time in public service,” Seip said. “He helped me navigate successful election cycles where we were always outnumbered in party registration, and caucus leadership elections, and he was someone that helped me to be a good public servant.”
“Congressman Tim Holden certainly impacted many lives, left his mark on our community, and left a legacy that ‘Socks’ Holden and Catherine Holden would surely be quite proud of,” he said.
Jack Reilly, an Ashland Borough councilman and chairman of the Schuylkill County Industrial Development Authority, said Holden’s legacy is his counsel and friendship.
“Tim will be greatly missed by all of Schuylkill County and Northeastern Pennsylvania. His wise counsel, mentoring, commitment to public service, and sincere friendship are his legacy, and it will continue to resonate for all of us,” Reilly said.
Reilly remembered asking Holden for a letter of recommendation for graduate school at Bloomsburg University, where Holden was a distinguished alumnus.
“He took my call while he was undergoing treatment at the Cleveland Clinic,” Reilly said. “The letter arrived within a week and played a role in my acceptance. That was Timmy, doing whatever it takes to help a friend and accelerate their opportunities.”
“There are no words for the legacy that Tim Holden left in our county. He was an amazing person. What a remarkable life,” Palo Alto Borough Councilman Charlie Dries said.
“Tim was a dedicated Congressman representing our county from 1993 to 2013. He never forgot his roots and represented Schuylkill proudly. He was well respected by all,” Pottsville City Councilwoman Dottie Botto said.
“Tim Holden was a dear friend of mine and my family. He’s a person who has always been synonymous with Schuylkill County from his years as Sheriff and two decades in the House of Representatives. He was an advocate of the people,” said Marybeth Matz, treasurer of the Schuylkill County Democratic Women’s League. “I found that Tim’s work to support programs benefiting the elderly, the working class, and emergency services was especially dear to his heart. Schuylkill County has lost a true champion of the people. RIP, Tim.”
Noble C. “Bud” Quandel, executive chairman of Quandel Enterprises, said he knew Holden his whole life.
“Tim Holden always put our region first and treated everyone with grace and respect. Our mothers were lifelong friends, so Tim was part of my life from the very beginning,” Quandel said. “Schuylkill County has lost a true public servant, and I have lost a dear friend.”
Former New Philadelphia Mayor Frani Tkach said she and Holden were friends before politics, and she remembered spending many New Year’s celebrations with him.
“Campaigning for him was even fun,” Tkach said. “One year we asked him to be grand marshal of our Halloween parade in New Philadelphia, and he dressed as Uncle Sam. He was a good sport.”
“He was a great Congressman, and he was approachable. We lost a great person,” she said. “Rest in peace, Tim. You’ll be missed.”
Holden was born March 5, 1957, and grew up in Saint Clair. He graduated from Saint Clair High School in 1975 and spent a year at Fork Union Military Academy. He then went to the University of Richmond on a football scholarship, but an illness cut his football career short. He earned a sociology degree from Bloomsburg University in 1980. That same year he became a licensed insurance broker and real estate agent in his family’s business.
Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess went to school with Holden from kindergarten through 12th grade.
“It’s a sad day. I’ve lost a good friend and a fellow classmate. We all lost a great leader who I really looked up to and respected,” Hess said.
“Tim and I went to school together from K to 12. We also played on the same Little League team that won the championship two years in a row. Go Fish & Game!” Hess said. “Tim was the catcher of that team, and like when he was a great sheriff, he didn’t let much get by.”
“I believe he was the best congressman this area has ever been represented by. He never forgot where he came from, and he truly represented all of us. Not only those from Saint Clair, but he looked out for everyone from each corner of Schuylkill County,” he said.
“He helped anyone who needed it, and to most he wasn’t just Congressman Holden, but rather known simply as Tim. He was a super friend, a classmate, and a great leader who will be missed by many,” Hess said. “My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and colleagues, who are all left with a bit of a void in their hearts today. God bless and rest well, my friend, until we meet again.”
His father, Joseph “Socks” Holden, played for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1934 to 1936 and later served four terms as a Schuylkill County commissioner.
His death comes less than seven months after that of his wife of 32 years, Gwen Holden, who died April 27 at age 71. The couple made their home in Saint Clair.
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