Fireman remembered with street name dedication BY ERIN O. STATTEL Correspondent Walter E. Holtz MARLBORO - Walter E. Holtz died March 17, 2005, at the age of 76 but will forever be remembered as the namesake for the newly dedicated Walter Holtz Way in Marlboro. Mayor Robert Kleinberg was accompanied by representatives of all four fire companies in Marlboro, Police Chief Robert Holmes and the family of Holtz, among others, to dedicate Township Drive to Holtz's memory on June 9. Township Drive, off Wyncrest Road, is the street that leads into the municipal complex. "This is my way of assuring that Walter Holtz, a man who did so much for Marlboro, will be remembered in perpetuity," Kleinberg said. "The name is fitting because Walter worked up there for so long," said Paul Lorenz, a volunteer firefighter with the Marlboro Fire Company, Route 79, and a dispatcher for the police and fire departments. Holtz was a lifelong resident of Marlboro, growing up on his family's farm in the township's Wickatunk section. He later served as a Marlboro fire official for more than 20 years and was an active member of the Monmouth County Fire Prevention and Protection Association. Holtz was also a U.S. Army veteran, having served with the occupation forces after World War II. His patriotic spirit never left him, as evidenced by the flag raising and flag lowering in front of his house every day. Holtz also served the community as a member of the Marlboro Fire Company for more than 50 years and Monmouth County as a county fire marshal. "He loved the town he was born and raised in," Lorenz said. "Walt would do anything for any resident, new or old." John Borden, who joined the Marlboro Fire Company under Holtz's guidance in 1973, is the current fire sub-code official for Marlboro. He remembered Holtz as being famous for five-minute jobs that managed to last entire weekends. Holtz was also known for being the first fire marshal in Marlboro. A mason by trade, he was also responsible for the building of the training smokehouse at the Monmouth County Fire Academy, Howell. Holtz also helped build the brick sign at the Old Brick Reformed Church on Route 520 in Marlboro and was always present to make sure new construction at the Marlboro Fire Company was done just right. Holtz was also a forward thinker, encouraging junior firefighters to join the fire department, while serving as chairman of the board of the fire company at the time of the inception of the junior firefighters program. Having no children of their own, Holtz and his wife, Gladys, fondly known as "Tootie," always enjoyed the younger volunteers at the fire company. "Every kid that joined was Walt and Tootie's kid," Borden said. Lorenz agreed, saying, "His friends were like his children." Gladys died in 1995. One brother and many nieces, nephews and friends survive Holtz. "Honesty, integrity, humility, compassion, dignity and respect are wonderful traits to have, yet rarely on our journey through life do we encounter an individual who is the embodiment of all," Kleinberg said. "Walter Holtz was such a man." For information on becoming a volunteer with the Marlboro Fire Company, call (732) 462-1829.