Bill Holland, whose body was just recently found, was on the zoning board.

GORHAM – Bill Holland took seriously his position on the Gorham Zoning Board of Appeals. So it was uncharacteristic when one night back in 1989, Holland did not show up for a board meeting.

After the meeting, news circulated that Holland had died while pursuing one of his passions, mountain climbing. The shock of that news came rushing back this week, when Holland’s remains were found by hikers in Canada’s Jasper National Park, where, 21 years ago, Holland fell 2,000 feet to his death while scaling the Snow Dome peak.

“It makes me sad,” said Blanche Alexander of Gorham, who sat next to Holland in zoning board meetings. “He was a lovely guy.”

As reported in the April 12, 1989, American Journal, while Holland and a climbing partner descended after scaling the peak, snow gave way under Holland’s feet and he fell. His climbing partner, of Massachusetts, did not fall and made it to safety alone.

Because of harsh weather conditions and the danger of an avalanche at the time, a rescue mission was called off. When authorities returned later to look for Holland’s body, they found an avalanche had occurred, changing the landscape and making the search difficult.

In Gorham, Holland had left a wife, Anne Holland, and a daughter, Laurel, then 6. The family lived on Harding Road.

Holland’s wife was a member of the First Parish Congregational Church in Gorham.

“I had his memorial service,” said the retired Rev. Phil Shearman, who was then the church pastor.

Shearman said Holland’s widow was grief-stricken but she “kept it all together.” Shearman said she accepted that climbing was just a part of who her husband was.

“He is where he wants to be right now,” his wife had said in an interview at the time with the American Journal. “He loved the mental challenge of mountain climbing. The joy was in the quest.”

According to the Ottawa Citizen, Holland’s body was discovered by two hikers on Aug. 15. Holland’s frozen body had been interred in ice that thawed.

The Canadian Press news service reported that a rescue specialist described Holland’s found body as “skin and bones, having quite a mummified look to him.”

Holland was a senior geologist at a Freeport firm. Holland’s wife said that her husband loved nature and had planned to climb a Himalayan peak the following year.

Holland had been appointed to Gorham’s Zoning Board of Appeals in May 1988.

“It is the responsibility of able people in the community to contribute what they can. I intend to remain in Gorham and I have an interest in contributing to its future good,” Holland had written on his appointment application.

Shearman said Holland’s family moved back to Washington state, where Anne Holland’s family lived.

Alexander said Bill Holland was very intelligent and, as a geologist, added much to the meetings at that time when gravel pits were a big issue in town.

“He contributed a lot,” Alexander said. “He was always prepared.”