No matter how many times he crisscrossed the globe or how many years he spent in Salt Lake City, the late Latter-day Saint apostle Jeffrey R. Holland remained a southern Utahn at heart.
And it was there his body returned for burial Thursday in his hometown St. George, to rest alongside his wife, Patricia, who died in 2023.
Holland, former president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and next in line to lead the worldwide faith, died Dec. 27 at age 85.
Hundreds lined the streets in the rain to pay their respects as the hearse carrying Holland’s casket passed landmarks from the man’s life, including the historic St. George Temple (which he rededicated in 2023) and his childhood home, before entering the St. George City Cemetery.
Present for the graveside service was the entire governing First Presidency: 93-year-old church President Dallin H. Oaks, and counselors Henry B. Eyring and D. Todd Christofferson. They, along with apostles Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Quentin L. Cook, Neil L. Andersen, Gary E. Stevenson and Patrick Kearon, all traveled to see their former colleague interred.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Hundreds of people line Tabernacle Street in St. George to pay their respects in the rain.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Son and general authority Seventy Matthew S. Holland greets President Henry B. Eyring, counselor in the First Presidency.
Among those to speak at the gathering was Holland’s daughter, Mary Alice McCann.
“Jeffrey R. Holland was once just a little boy in St. George,” McCann said. “...He roamed the red hills. He played any sport with a ball in these parks. He met a little girl named Patricia and began a lifetime of gospel study and faith.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) An emotional President Dallin H. Oaks attends the interment service for Jeffrey R. Holland, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in St. George on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Mary Alice McCann delivers remarks at the interment service for her father.
Known for passionate sermons that left him clutching the pulpit and his generous jowls quivering, Holland suffered from a number of health issues before his death, which a church news release attributed to complications related to kidney disease.
Funeral services took place Wednesday in the Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
“While we rejoice in knowing that he is reunited with his dear wife, Pat,” Cook, who served alongside Holland 65 years ago as his missionary companion in England, said during Wednesday’s event, “his passing leaves us with a sense of loss.”