Vale Les Holt - from cranes to Cadillacs
CAR enthusiasts across Toowoomba and district are mourning the loss of Les Holt.
Mr Holt passed away on Monday after a battle with illness.
His good friends of 35 years, Des and Judy Eyers, shared a love of cars, in particular Cadillacs, with Mr Holt and his wife Patty.
“We were very, very close friends for 35 years,” Mr Eyers said.
“We went over to America in 2011 to buy a Cadillac each and we ended up bringing back seven cars, five of which were Cadillacs.”
At the time of his death, Mr Holt had eight Cadillacs as well as other older cars including a Rolls Royce.
Originating from Bendigo in Victoria where he had worked for his father for some years, Mr and Mrs Holt moved to Toowoomba about 35 years ago.
The couple bought Lachlan’s Cranes and then ran Holts Crane Hire for the ensuing 25 years.
During that time, Mr Holt also bought Brambles Cranes in Brisbane and ran a very successful business until selling to Boom Cranes about 10 years ago after which he retired.
It was on his retirement that Mr Holt was able to engage in his passion for cars, especially Cadillacs, some of which were used for a range of photo shoots for models and other people in Toowoomba.
Mrs Holt took to gardening, and the couple opened their Toowoomba home and garden to the public on occasions for fundraising events for causes like the Leukaemia Foundation.
Mr Holt is survived by his wife Patty and their three children Leigh, Mark and Kellie and their families.
His funeral will be held at Burstows Funeral Home from 2.30pm on Tuesday next week.
Mr Eyers will be driving one of Mr Holt’s most cherished cars, his 1959 Eldorado Beritz Cadillac, as the lead car in the funeral entourage.