Death Takes Home Builder G. M. Holstein

George M. Holstein III, pioneer Southern California home builder and developer, died July 2 at his Newport Beach home following a lengthy battle against cancer. He was 64.

In addition to the construction of thousands of dwellings throughout Orange County, the Holstein firm, founded in 1923 by his father, built scores of homes in Beverly Hills for the early motion picture stars. George Holstein succeeded his father in 1949 and later developed the bench-mark Sandpiper community in the Palm Springs area, forerunner of scores of other desert condominium projects.

As an ardent sportsman, Holstein was instrumental in the creation of the Balboa Bay Club, the Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course and the Newport Beach Tennis Club. The Holstein Co., received national attention with its trend-setting development of the Bluffs community above Upper Newport Bay.

During 1965-66, with C. Robert Perryman as vice president of marketing, the firm built and sold more than 2,000 “bonus room”--over-the-garage unfinished rooms--homes in Orange County projects.

Holstein, a native of Beverly Hills, attended high school there and Pomona College and served as a naval ensign in World War II. He leaves his wife, Mary, his mother, Susan Holstein; three daughters, Sue DeMille, Sandra Thomas and Sally Holstein; six grandchildren, a brother, William, and a stepdaughter, Melissa Alward.