Bertha M. "B" Holt

Bertha “B” Merrill Holt lived a vibrant, energetic life dedicated to family and community.
A native of Eufaula, AL, “B” earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1938 from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA. She went on to be one of the first women to enroll in the University of North Carolina’s School of Law and the only woman in her class. After two years at UNC, “B” completed her law degree at the University of Alabama in 1941. She then moved to Washington, DC where she worked for the U.S. Treasury and the Department of the Interior. While in Washington, she met her husband, W. Clary Holt, who was serving in the U.S. Army.
After World War II in 1946, she and Clary moved to Burlington, NC where they raised their daughter Harriet and two sons, Merrill and Jefferson. “B” immersed herself in the life of the community, from teaching high school Sunday school classes and serving as a Boy Scout den mother to becoming a leader in the local Democratic Party.
She was the first woman to serve on her Episcopal church vestry, later serving as its senior warden and as a member of North Carolina’s Diocesan Council. She was the first woman to serve on the Bishop’s Committee of the Episcopal Church in NC.
In 1975, “B” was appointed to the North Carolina House of Representatives and became the first woman to ever represent her district of Alamance and Rockingham counties. Voters returned her to office for eight consecutive terms — a total of 19 years. She established a distinguished record of public service. She was a founding member of the Alamance Women’s Political Caucus in 1988 and of the Women’s Resource Center in Alamance County in 1989. In 1995 she was a member of the delegation to the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing.
In 2007, “B” received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Agnes Scott College. She has been honored by more than forty organizations, including the NC Bar Association, NC Association of Women Attorneys, NC Council of Churches, American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, UNC Chapel Hill, Lillian’s List and the Women’s Resource Center in Alamance County among many others.
Along with her work in public service, “B” and Clary found time to explore their many other passions. She loved studying the language, wines and culture of the many countries they visited.
“B” was preceded in death by her husband, W. Clary Holt of Burlington.
She is survived by her daughter, Harriet H. Whitley of Burlington; sons, W. Merrill Holt and wife, Chutima of Pleasanton, CA, W. Jefferson Holt and wife, Kate of Chapel Hill; grandchildren, Allyson Burroughs and husband, Mark of Clarkston, GA, Anna Blessington and husband, Kevin of Huntersville, NC, Alexander Holt of San Jose, CA, William Holt of Raleigh, NC, Croft and Christopher Holt of Chapel Hill, NC; and great grandchildren, Grace and Lawson Burroughs of Clarkston, GA and Jack Blessington of Huntersville, NC.
The funeral service will be conducted at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter on Monday, June 21, 2010, at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow in the church’s cemetery.
A reception will be held in the Great Hall of the church after the burial.
The family will receive friends at the Rich & Thompson Funeral Home and Cremation Service on Sunday, June 20, 2010, from 3:00 until 5:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Alamance-Caswell, 914 Chapel Hill Road, Burlington, NC 27215; the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter, P.O. Box 1336, Burlington, NC 27216; or to the Women’s Resource Center of Alamance County, 411 West Fifth Street, Suite B, Burlington, NC 27215.
The online guest book may be signed at www.richandthompson.com