Zachary Alan Holden

Zachary Alan Holden, 27 of Athens, Tennessee passed away unexpectedly on July 28th 2021 taking his final ride to work on his dream bike “Mona Lisa”. Zachary (Zach) was born in Phoenix, Arizona on April 9th 1994 and moved to South Bend, Indiana in 2005. He graduated from Clay High School in 2012 and immediately joined the Army National Guard, proudly serving his country for 6 years before being honorably discharged. During his time in South Bend, Zachary worked as a correctional officer for SJCJ and then worked for Brinks before making his dream move to Tennessee. In Tennessee Zachary worked for Amazon where he met the love of his life, Vicky Owen. After almost 2 years of working with Amazon, his last job was with Yamaha.
Zachary loved to spend time outdoors. He enjoyed kayaking and fishing (Even though all he could seem to catch is large sticks), hiking, going on spontaneous adventures and playing video games. Zach had created his own streaming site called Architect Gaming where he acquired a whole world of online gaming friends/family.
Zachary was a loving beautiful soul who loved to help others. In 2018 he lost his best friend “Teddy” Braun to gun violence and created a nonprofit organization #Teddys4TeddyB. This organization gifted stuffed animals to sick children in the hospital. In Tennessee Zach continued to spread his love and was a lead volunteer at a local animal shelter MRHS. He spent his time there giving his love and attention to all the scared animals.
Zach is survived by his parents Darlene and Alan Holden, siblings Ashley Holden, Seirra Holden all of South Bend, IN, Autumn (Billy) McKenzie of Foley AL, and Travis Thornburg of Mobile, AL. Nieces Rayne and Ava Holden whom were his entire world and nephews Duane and Holden Pickering. Grandmother Nancy Holden of Phoenix, AZ. He also leaves behind several aunts, uncles, friends he considered family, cousins and fiancé Vicky Owen of Athens, TN. He is preceded in death by his best friend Theodore “Teddy” Braun, grandfather and grandmother James Dickey and Anna Paulin. Aunts Linda Dickey and Cheryl Holden along with uncles Victor Burd, Randall Burd and Bobby Dickey.
A celebration of life will be held August 21st 2021 at 2pm at the American Legion post 284 in South Bend, IN. Donations can be sent to a gofund me ran by Ashley Holden and flowers may be sent to the Legion for his August 21st celebration of life service. Proceeds from his Architect gaming site will go to the animal shelter he volunteered at in his honor. A special thank you to all those who loved Zach and have supported the Holden family during this difficult time. He will be missed dearly.
“Much love, spread love” – Zachary Holden
You are encouraged to share a memory of Zach and/or your personal condolences with his family by visiting his memorial webpage and guestbook at www.companionfunerals.com. Companion Funeral Home of Athens is honored to assist his family with these arrangements.