Former owner of John’s Shoes & Clothing remembered

John Holyk Jr., known to his friends and family as “Johnny,” passed away Dec. 23, 2013, just days before his 77th birthday. Holyk owned John’s Shoes & Clothing store in Battle Ground with his wife Shirley from 1963 to 1981.

John was born Dec. 27, 1936, in Glasco, MT. Maria Holyk, one of John’s many grandchildren, said he was actually born premature and only weighed two pounds at birth. None of the doctors thought he would make it, but one doctor at the hospital was willing to take a chance and saved his life.

In 1943, John’s parents, John Holyk Sr. and Leona, moved to Battle Ground and opened John’s Shoes & Clothing store in Old Town. The Holyk family lived in the apartment above the store until they earned enough money to buy an old Heights house that they moved to Battle Ground. Johnny and his sister Mary worked at the store with their parents. Mary took care of the books and John helped out by taking care of customers and helping run the front end of the store.

John graduated from Battle Ground High School in 1954 and went right into the workforce. He had a variety of jobs, including running the factory for Nalley Brand (pickles and sauerkraut) at the age of 18. He also worked at Swift Creek Dam surveying property, and then moved into the kitchens and waited tables for all the workers who were building the dam. He then went back to work for his dad at the store, helping to add shoes, clothes and other goods for people to buy.

Johnny and Shirley met in 1955 on a blind date. Shirley’s girlfriend Delores had a date with one of Johnny’s friends and a deal was made that Delores had to find a friend to take on a double date with Johnny. They all went to Steakburger in Hazel Dell.

Over the next six months, Johnny and Shirley dated a few more times until Johnny proposed. He bought a ring from his uncle’s jewelry store that he kept in the glove box of his car. He asked Shirley to get something out of the glove box one day, where she saw the box with the ring inside. They were married in 1956 at the Eagles Hall in Battle Ground and had a large wedding filled with family and friends. Johnny was only 19 at the time of their wedding, Shirley was 17.

The couple was married for 57 years and had five children - Mitzi, Tami, Rene, Curt and Garret.

When John’s parents were ready to retire in 1963, Shirley and John bought John’s Shoes & Clothing from them. Mitzi, Tami, Rene and Curt all worked in the store with their parents when they were younger.

“He loved to fit kids for new shoes,” Maria said of her grandfather. “But if someone came in that was down on their luck or couldn’t quite afford jeans or boots, he was always happy to help people out by letting them make payments or would tell them they were having a sale to fit what they could pay. He always made sure he took care of the people in his community.”

John came up with an idea for every time someone purchased from John’s Shoes and all the other participating stores around town. Customers would get a ticket and every Friday night they would hold a big raffle party and give out gift certificates to the stores and have dances in the middle of Main Street. Maria said this was how the first Battle Ground Harvest Days started.

“He and a couple other star people of Battle Ground decided that the community needed to have regular get togethers and have fun together,” Maria said. “He understood the importance of community.”

Johnny also started the first professional businessmen group. The group was called the Business Man’s Group of Battle Ground, where the members would get together and try to promote business. John did many other things for the Battle Ground community, including ordering extra P.E. clothes and shoes to donate to the school for the students who couldn’t afford it. He and Shirley also bought and donated the Camp Lewis property to the Boy Scouts, which is still there and being used by the organization. He also bought various other properties around town, owning the Dollars Corner Lumber Yard and the “famous” Barn Marche sunglasses stand on their property on the west side of Battle Ground.

In a narrative on Johnny put together by Maria and Shirley, they said he was always doing something, “his hands were never idle.” They wrote that Johnny built a lasting legacy of family and community, and was always willing to help out whoever he could. They said he had a huge influence on the people that met him and never wanted credit for any of it.

Casey Holyk, another one of John’s grandchildren, shared other memories of “Grandpa John” that he and the other grandchildren remember fondly, including that John loved to go to Fatty Patty’s to have coffee with his friends; he had an extremely unique laugh that he used often; he constantly told old jokes or thought up new ones, and they were always funny; and how he always opened his home to his children or grandchildren when they had challenges in their lives.

“His most amazing talent was making everyone from grandchildren to a person working at a store he frequented feel like they were his most favorite person in the world,” Casey said. “What’s even more amazing is that everyone he met was his favorite, he had that big of a heart.”

In addition to his five children, John was also grandpa to 13 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. No services are planned for John at this time, as he was cremated and his wish was that no services be held.

“He (John) was incredibly devoted to his family, especially his grandkids and great-grandkids,” Shirley and Maria wrote about John. “He loved being surrounded by his family, and taught us all about determination, dedication, hard work, integrity and the value of loving people.”