Obituary: Warren Holloway, travel outfitter and former Bee crime reporter

Warren Holloway, a travel gear retailer and old-school newspaperman who reported the crime beat for many years at The Bee, died Tuesday, his family said. He was 93.

Mr. Holloway joined The Bee in 1947 as a picture editor before covering crime the old-fashioned way for more than two decades. He was a fixture at the Sacramento police and sheriff's headquarters, where he was greeted as "Scoop." He banged out copy on deadline – and freelanced stories for "True Detective" magazine – on manual typewriters in small, out-of-the way rooms reserved for the press.

Soft-spoken but congenial, he built a strong rapport with people in law enforcement at a time when relations between authorities and the press were more cozy. He took officers to lunch, attended their retirement dinners and socialized with their families. Investigators invited him on stakeouts, divulged inside information and gave him "scoops."

"He'd come in, grab a cup of coffee and fit right in with the detectives," former Police Chief Jack Kearns said. "You'd tell him things like he was just another cop."

Mr. Holloway carefully balanced his roles as a beat reporter and public watchdog. He never betrayed a source and always honored agreements to report the news accurately and fairly. Meanwhile, he aided newsroom colleagues who reported tougher stories about law-enforcement activities.

"Warren spent so much of his working and social life with the police and sheriff's departments that they considered him to be one of them," former Bee reporter Steve Gibson said. "But at the same time, he was one of us."

Mr. Holloway spent four years running The Bee's Secret Witness program, which solicited crime tips from the public, before retiring in 1984. He joined his family's business, Holloway Travel Outfitters, which he and his wife opened in 1978.

A founding member and longtime volunteer for the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, he was named to the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society Hall of Fame in 1987. He belonged to Carmichael Kiwanis for 30 years, served as past president and was instrumental in opening membership to women.

Born in 1919 in Seattle, James Warren Holloway studied journalism at the University of Washington. He enlisted in the Army after the attack on Pearl Harbor and served three years in the Signal Corps in the Aleutian Islands.

He returned home after World War II and worked briefly for Boeing Corp. Eager to be a reporter, he took a 40 percent pay cut and a job at the Seattle Star newspaper, which soon folded. He moved to California in 1946 and worked for a Pittsburg newspaper before joining The Bee.

Mr. Holloway had three children with his wife, Marion "Gussie" Holloway, a former reporter whom he met at The Bee. They were married for 49 years until her death in 1997.

A Carmichael resident, he built a cabin during the 1960s for family vacations at Bucks Lake in Plumas County. After opening his travel store, he visited more than 80 countries on every continent – including trips to the North Pole and Antarctica at age 87.

"His last trip was in 2009 to France," said his son Jon, who runs the business. "He loved traveling and helping customers realize their travel dreams."

Warren Holloway

Born: Aug. 3, 1919

Died: Oct. 9, 2012

Survived by: Daughter, Kristine Swanner of Citrus Heights; sons, James Holloway of Olivehurst, and Jon Holloway of Sacramento; two grandchildren

Services: 1 p.m. Sunday at Lind Brothers Funeral Home, 4221 Manzanita Ave., Carmichael

Remembrances: In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mercy Hospice Foundation, 9912 Business Park Drive, Suite 100, Sacrmento, CA 95827; and El Camino High School Jazz Band, attn: Kevin Glazer – Jazz Band, 4300 El Camino Ave., Sacramento, CA 95821.

Order Reprint