Jeffrey Charles Holliday

Jeffrey Charles Holliday, 64, passed away on July 14, 2025, at his home in Guysville, Ohio. Born March 27, 1961 in Youngstown, Ohio, he was the son of the late Andrew Edward and Helen Mohnacki Holliday.

Jeff was a lover of all things outdoors. His affinity for nature and all its creatures was deepened by his activities in the Boy Scouts, with whom he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. His troop took camping trips that inspired Jeffrey to create elaborate Appalachian fantasies complete with made-up maps.

At Ohio State University he obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics, followed by a master's degree in nuclear astrophysics. Soon afterward, he purchased 270 acres of unspoiled land in Athens County and built a simple dwelling on it, thus fulfilling a dream he had cherished since age 12.

After school he went to work for a small local firm, Sunpower, where he designed free-piston engines including Stirling engines. He continued this work on his own under the rubric Holliday Labs, acquiring an extraordinary expertise that led him, at 26, to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA was interested in using free-piston Stirling engines for extended missions to the outer solar system, and to power deep space vehicles and probes as well as exoplanetary encampments.

NASA wanted Jeff at its Cleveland facility, but he was unwilling to give up his residence in southern Ohio or to leave his dogs too long alone. So he negotiated a four-day work week in Cleveland, where he oversaw a substantial budget and a staff of nine.

After a few years at NASA, Jeff decided to work for himself: He continued to do the same type of physics engineering, but as an independent contractor who didn’t have to be in Cleveland all the time. He later created an online merchandising business.

For a time he owned a house in Athens, but he never gave up residency on his wild territory in the Shade River watershed. At the time of his death, he was negotiating the land’s preservation through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

He is survived by his two sisters, Kathryn Rowland, Andrea Holliday; nephew, Kevin Andrew Rowland; cousins, Nancy Brescia, Tom Holliday, Judy Hatala, William Hatala; and a dear friend, John Gedeon, who provided Jeffrey much help and camaraderie during the last years of his life.

Jeffrey is preceded in death by his parents.

Cremation arrangements have been entrusted to Hughes Funeral Home of Athens, OH. Friends and family are encouraged to sign Jeff's online guestbook or leave the family a message of sympathy at www.ehwfh.com.

Donations may be sent in Jeff’s memory to Boy Scout Troop 25 at 140 W. Main St., Canfield, OH 44406.