Leonard W. "Len" Holzinger

Leonard W. “Len” Holzinger, age 82, of Grants Pass, died October 15, 2014, at his home.

Memorial service will be at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, October 25, 2014 at Newman United Methodist Church located at NW 6th & B Streets, with the Rev. Richard Fuss officiating. Burial will be at Eagle Point National Cemetery with a public military service at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, October 23, 2014. Hull & Hull Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements.

Contributions may be made to Newman United Methodist Church Memorial Fund, 132 NE B Street, Grants Pass, Oregon 97526 or to a charity of donor’s choice.

Len was born February 10, 1932, in Peoria, Illinois, to Len & Ella Maye Holzinger. He grew up in the city and learned to ride the street cars by himself at an early age. In 1946 he and his parents relocated to Grants Pass to be close to special friends. Len and his parents lived in the Jones Creek area where Len attended a one-room school. As a young teen, he became interested in photography and worked in the hop fields to earn money to buy his first camera. While still in high school, he was employed by Artcraft Studio and Camera Shop working mostly in the darkroom. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1953 and was station at Big Delta, Alaska, where he was a photographer in a unit which photographed everything used by the Army under Alaska’s arctic conditions. He was honorably discharged and returned to the Rogue Valley in 1955 where he was employed by Landis Studio in Medford. In 1958 he purchased the Studio part of Artcraft which then became Len’s Studio.

On July 9, 1960, he married the former Shirley K. Hardy, in Grants Pass. Her teaching career ended in 1964 when she joined him in the business. In 1972 they purchased the former LDS Church at 4th & J Streets, remodeled the building and moved their business to that location in August 1972. They operated Len’s Studio through 2003.

Len was elected to the District 7 School Board in 1976 and served six years. He was appointed to the City Council in 1995 and served five years prior to being elected Mayor in 2000. He served two terms as Mayor of the City of Grants Pass.

Len is a graduate of Grants Pass High School and was placed in its Hall of Fame in 1988. He is a life member of Professional Photographers of America and holds degrees of Master of Photography and Photographic Craftsman. He is a PPA Certified Professional Photographer and received the PPA National Award in addition to many awards on his photography. He was a longtime member and past president of the Professional Photographers of Oregon, a member of Newman United Methodist Church, a past member of Rotary International and a past member of the Josephine County Historical Society.

Len’s hobbies were lapidary jewelry and woodworking, especially cabinet and furniture building. He also enjoyed remodeling his buildings. His favorite pastime was being involved in various professional and community activities where he believed he could make a difference.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Shirley, and son, Michael both of Grants Pass.