Dr. J. Calvin Holsinger III, a longtime resident of Springfield, Missouri passed away on December 15, 2017 in Des Moines, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, where he had lived for the last few years. He was 89. Holsinger was a retired Professor of History and higher education administrator, of numerous universities for nearly 50 years. The last 30 of which were at Springfield''s Evangel University.
He was born on January 2, 1928 in Trafford, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. He received his Bachelors and Master''s degrees in history from the University of Pittsburgh; and his doctorate in history from Temple University in Philadelphia.
Calvin Holsinger was the son of John and Cora Irene Holsinger. His father was a merchant and manager of the town''s grocery store. His mother''s family were descended from Puritans who came to Massachusetts in the Mid-1600s.
Dr. Holsinger was proceeded in death by his beloved wife of 59 years, Adena Seguine Holsinger. J. Calvin Holsinger has a brother, Wayne T. Holsinger of Scottsdale, AZ; and a sister, Barbara Everhart of North Point, Florida.
Calvin and Adena Holsinger had one child, a daughter, Coradella "Cori" Holsinger who married Mr. Lacey Hartje, Jr. There are two grandsons; Ryan Parke Hartje and Kent Clarke Hartje, all of Washington state.
Dr. Holsinger served his Lord and his church in various capacities. In the 1950s, Holsinger worked to establish the now global campus ministry of Chi Alpha. Today Chi Alpha has over 300 chapters on university campuses.
Dr. Holsinger was also an active member and officer of local historical and heritage groups. He was an officer of the local SAR chapter; and an officer of Scottish Clan Dunbar and the Irish Clan Ferguson. He enjoyed genealogy research and helped others research their backgrounds. He and his family were members of the First Families of Massachusetts, Order of the Crown of Charlemagne, and Barons of the Magna Charta.
He dedicated much of his professional efforts to the professional history field known as Public History --serving as President of the Museum of the Ozarks, the Wilson''s Creek National Battlefield Foundation, the city and county Historical Sites Boards, the Celtic Society of the Ozarks, the German-Austrian-Swiss Society of the Ozarks, and the Greene County Historical Society. He was a member of the Board for other groups such as the Bicentennial Committee, the Greene County Sesquicentennial Committee; and for six years as a member of the Missouri Humanities Council, the state-based arm of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Professor Holsinger''s professional research writing included regular abstracting for the journal Historical Abstracts; writing articles for such books as the multi-volume Biographical Dictionary of British Radicals of the Seventeenth Century, and articles for the Dictionary of Missouri Biography.
Dr. Holsinger received community and professional awards including: National Phi Delta Kappa "Distinguished Educator Award" (1979); the SAR "Silver Citizenship Medal" for distinguished community service (1989), the "Sears Award for Excellence in Teaching and Leadership" (1991) ,"Ozarks Heritage Award"(1992); the State of Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education''s "Award for Excellence in University Teaching" (1992); and the DAR''s "Medal of Honor" for outstanding community leadership and service (1993).
In addition to his teaching at Evangel University, he served on the history faculties of Southern California College (now Vanguard), the Richard Bland School of the College of William & Mary, and the Pennsylvania State University at Bloomsburg.
Friends who wish to honor his memory may make a charity gift to the Holsinger History Scholarship at Evangel University, Springfield, Mo 65802.
A celebration of his life and work will be held at the Maranatha Village Chapel, 233 E Norton Road Springfield, MO 65803 on Saturday, January 20, 2018 at 2 p.m. with visitation from 1-2 p.m.