James P. Holm

Holm, James P. Kalamazoo, MI & Sun City Center, FL James Paul Holm, P.E. of Kalamazoo, Michigan and Sun City Center, Florida passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 17, 2023, after dealing with cancer for several years. He was 84 years old. Jim was born in 1938 to the late James Peter Holm and Leah Reisbig Holm in Jackson, Michigan, where he attended Jackson High School and worked as a draftsman on utility power plants for Commonwealth Associates. Many happy hours were spent at the Consumer's Clubhouse on Clark Lake. He was also a radio technician in the Michigan National Guard. In 1960 he married Marilyn Ruth Schmalz and they moved to Kalamazoo, MI, where they both attended Western Michigan University. During this time, he worked part time as an electrical designer with several local engineering companies. He earned an FCC First Class Commercial Broadcast License and worked as an engineer at radio station WKPR. After graduating from Western with a BS in Electrical Engineering he earned a P.E. (Professional Control System Engineer) certification and joined the National Society of Professional Engineers. He then worked as an electronic engineer at Kal-Equip in Otsego, MI, where he developed automotive emissions test instruments. In 1969 he joined The Upjohn Company (now Pfizer) in Kalamazoo, MI as an electrical and electronics engineer. He developed the Upjohn fiber optic video conferencing network, Card-Key access control, intrinsically safe UL electronic and explosion-proof electrical system standards, various telephone, pager, and public address radio systems, including a voice alarm system. He provided corporate liaison with the FCC. He obtained patents on several unique machines, such as a TV based bar code reader, a TV-based liquid inspection machine, and a tablet pressure monitor that improved the speed and accuracy of tablet manufacturing. It was a valuable innovation that was also used by other drug companies. He was promoted to Corporate Industrial Electronics Consultant and in 1995 he received the Upjohn Award for his outstanding work. He retired in 1996. Jim was always interested in music recording and playback systems and received a patent for a stereophonic loudspeaker array, which was licensed to the Jensen Loudspeaker Company. For many years he did classical music recording, editing and CD mastering in Kalamazoo, mostly solo and chamber music, including the Fontana concert series and the Gilmore Keyboard Festival, as well as the Kalamazoo Symphony, the Kalamazoo College and Community Orchestra, and the Kalamazoo Concert Band. He made many audition CDs for aspiring musicians, all at no charge. He had a lifelong interest in cars and airplanes and enjoyed riding motorcycles and bicycles. The Kal-Haven Trail was a favorite spot, especially after retirement. A retirement project of his was thinking of ways to deal with climate change and publishing them on his website, which was first named Coal2Nuclear.com, then Skyscrubber.com, and finally StoppingClimateChange.com. The main themes are capturing carbon dioxide from the air and replacing coal plants with nuclear. It is gratifying to see these ideas finally being implemented. Jim and Marilyn enjoyed travelling throughout the United States. After they both retired from Upjohn, they began looking for a sunny winter getaway, finally settling on Sun City Center, Florida. They purchased a home there in 2001 and became snowbirds. Jim gave several talks on how to deal with climate change to various groups in Sun City Center. Preceding him in death were his sister, Maria Holm Coyle, and his brother, John Holm. He will be missed by his wife, Marilyn Holm, his daughter, Jeanette Holm and brothers-in-law Peter Coyle and Michael Pye. After cremation a private burial will take place at Riverside Cemetery in Albion, MI. A memorial gathering will be held in Kalamazoo in June. If you would like to attend, please email JPHGathering@gmail.com for details. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Centrica Care Navigators, 7100 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo, MI 49009 (formerly Hospice Care of Southwest MI), in memory of James Holm. Arrangements entrusted to Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial & Cremation Services, 622 S. Burdick St, Kalamazoo MI 49007. To view Jim's personalized web page, please visit https://www.langelands.com