Search by Name

Add a Memory

Send Flowers

Make a Donation

Share Obituary

Jane E.M. Holt

About

Johns Hopkins University

Jane Holt Obituary

HOLT, JANE E.M.

On Wednesday, April 27, 2005 at her home in Washington, DC. She is survived by her husband, Samuel C.O. Holt; her three daughters, Elliott, Elizabeth and Katharine; her mother, her sisters and her brother. Memorial service will be on Sunday, May 8 at 2 p.m. at Christ Church, Georgetown, 31st and O Streets, N.W. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her name should be made to the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Washington Post on Apr. 30, 2005.

Memories and Condolences
for Jane Holt

15 Entries

Jean Thompson Londin Townsend

June 5, 2023

I was very moved and saddened when I learned of dear Jane's premature passing. She was a wonderfully kind and generous friend to me for about four years when we were coming of age in our early twenties in the Boston area. We even became roommates, and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding to her beloved Sam.

I first met Jane in early 1968 in Newton, MA, at the place where we both worked, Education Development Center. When she learned that I lived only a few blocks away from her in nearby Cambridge, MA, she immediately and very generously offered to pick me up every morning in her Volkswagon and drive me with her to our joint workplace. This very kind gesture not only saved me a daily long commute on public transportation; it also gave me the opportunity to get to know Jane, whom I soon realized was a sort of Renaissance Woman with many diverse interests, abilities and talents. She had been a champion swimmer in her youth, and also a writer of poetry who won a medal in a Jr Scholastic Magazine contest. (Ironically, I also won an Honorable Mention in that same contest in that same year.) She had graduated from Radcliffe in a time when Harvard only took men; but she then managed to become one of the pioneering few women to make it into the MBA program at Boston University and astonishingly for her day to become number one in her graduating class. In what was then the very male field of Business Administration! Jane was truly amazing!!

I will never forget Jane, even though our lives went in
different directions and we lost contact with one another. I remember vividly her empathy, her kindness and generosity, her thoughtfulness, her outgoing leadership abilities, her quiet boldness, competitiveness, and daring, and her sense of purpose and fun. My deepest sympathy goes out to Jane's beloved Sam, her three daughters, and the other surviving members of her family, on their great loss of this truly remarkable woman.

Wilma Kassakian

December 20, 2005

Jane and I swam a thousand miles together as members of the Cleveland Swim Club -- she was a year older, but we were close friends. She was always strong, always smart, always a bit maternal -- loving and supportive.

The last time I saw Jane, our daughers (both Harvard students) were running the same Boston marathon. We stood together and waited for the girls to pass by a spot near my home on Heartbreak Hill --- and we caught up with thirty years gone by.

I didn't email or write Jane often, but I miss knowing she is in the world -- so full of fun and intelligence. Love to her girls. Wilma Riemenschneider Kassakian

Alyssum

May 19, 2005

In remembering Mrs. Holt I find it so consoling to know that if I could leave this world a better place as she did -- with three wonderful daughters and years of good work -- I would leave happily and satisfied.

Meghan Kenny

May 18, 2005

Jane's eldest daughter Elliott is one of my closest friends from college, and on several occasions I have met Lizzie and Katie -- all three are extraordinary women. I know without a doubt it is because they had an extraordinary mother.

John Ashley

May 17, 2005

Samuel & family,

You don't know me, nor did Jane, yet I know of you all through a common friend, Mary Davis. On the other side of the world as I am, in the walled Old City of Jerusalem, please know that Jane's radiance reached thus far, through many a story shared in hushed reverence. Sister Justina repeatedly prayed for Jane at the Syrian Orthodox Church, the site of St Mark's mother's house, with considerable archeological evidence said to be where the Last Supper was celebrated, the 'upper room' now a basement, as Jerusalem rises ever higher. Jane's life so shone that it reached here, and touched hearts here just as another life did two thousand years ago.

Barbara Ladd

May 10, 2005

Jane was my 2nd cousin. She used to babysit me, my sister, Jane, and my two brothers, Jim & Bob. We had so many wonderful times together and especially enjoyed getting together at the Ohio Edison picnics and riding the roller coasters. It was always a special treat to go over to Merriman Road and spend the afternoon with the Mansfields. We always felt so welcome and will always treasure those fondly remembered days of so long ago. My sister, Jane, was a junior bridesmaid in Jane and Sam's wedding. I was a junior bridesmaid in Lousie Tucker's wedding. Jane was always upbeat, funny and so very intelligent. Unfortunately, having moved overseas and far away from Akron I have lost touch with the Mansfield family only communicating via Christmas cards. In any event, my thoughts and prayers are with you all in this very difficult time.

Karin Boerger

May 10, 2005

Jane made me feel safe in strange and scary places. When she looked at Elliott she showed me that she loved Elliott deeply and knew her intimately. She made me believe that I could do anything without fear or pain. She completed extraordinary acts as if they were ordinary and within the ordinary saw the extraordinary. Elliott talked about her thumbing Katie's birthday skirt saying repeatedly, "beautiful" and about her cherishing Lizzie and Willie's new marriage. I will strive to see half as much of the world as Jane did and still take ultimate pleasure in simple joys. How better could I honor Jane?

Adrienne (Milton) Ferrell

May 8, 2005

Jane was my friend from Whitman Hall in college. After graduation in 1966 she and I traveled to Greece and lived there for a year, teaching Greek secondary school students in Thessaloniki. We met up in Venice, Jane having picked up a red Volkswagen bug in Germany. I remember the joy I felt when she arrived: she was so cheerful and so able even in unfamiliar envoironments. We had so many adventures that year. I'll never forget her teaching me how to use the stick shift in that little car, or driving into a town on Crete during spring vacation with a military coup going on, old planes dropping leaflets telling people to be loyal to the new government, an agitated old woman in black flagging us down for a ride, and filling the car with garlic aroma. It was just like Jane to stop and offer this woman her help. And I remember how Jane astonished everyone on the beach with her dolphin stroke (especially the boys).

Jane was an exceptional daughter, friend, sister, wife, mother and professional.

My heart, my condolances, and my wonderful memories of Jane go out to her loved ones: Sam, her daughters and the rest of her family. And to all of her firends who treasure their own memories of Jane, who was such a kind, cheerful, practical, insightful and life-affirming friend. Her powerful life-force can help sustain those she left behind.

Kumiko Makihara

May 8, 2005

I met Jane in Moscow where I was fortunate to be a guest at many of her dinner parties. The gatherings were typical of Jane; lively, warm and welcoming, and an oasis from the dark Russian winters. I will miss Jane very much, but she will continue to be my role model.

DIANA SHEEKS

May 6, 2005

Jane was my cousin. She babysat for me and my sister, Roberta, when a teenager in Akron. I have such strong memories of her and her sisters, especially playing games, reading, playing the guitar and singing, "Puff, The Magic Dragon," while we were growing up with her. I was a bridemaid in her wedding to Sam, and was honored to be in such a position. In later years, I would see Jane only occasionally when she came to Akron to see her mother, but she never changed...not her looks, her voice, her sweet personality, nor her love for her family and all the children within the family. She was an inspiration to many that knew and loved her. Jane was taken away much too early from this world, her sweet husband, Sam, her beautiful daughters, Lizzie, Katie and Elliot, her mother, Louise Mansfield, and siblings, Lousie Tucker and Alec Mansfield, all of whom loved her as much as she loved them. I pray for her eternal peace and may her memories sustain her family and many friends at this time of sorrow. The world will not be the same without Jane.

Katelijn van den Berg

May 6, 2005

I met Jane first in June 2003 when she was working as Sector Manager for Environment. It is a pity that we not got a chance to work to together longer, since I got to know her as a very dedicated caring person. My thought are with her family.

Sheryl Stull

May 6, 2005

Dear Holt Family:

We first met Jane at King (Elementary) School. As classmates we enjoyed spending time at each others houses. I pass your Mom's former house on Merriman Road every night on my way home from work. Jane and my twin sister, Susie, and I always had so much fun. What a sweet and loving person. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Jane was a good, kind and caring friend.

Most sincerely,

The Stull Twins

Sue Oplinger and Sheryl Stull

Johnson Appavoo

May 3, 2005

This world, however beautiful was never meant to be the place that we would call our home for all eternity, and though we would not choose to leave, a loving God knows the best, and in His time, He lifts us to place of peace and rest. For He has built a mansion where His children will abide, free from pain and sorrow, forever at His side.

May He ease your hour of sorrow and surround you with His love, And may it bring you strength to know Our Father's house above Is a house of many mansions where His Son has set aside special places near Him for His loved ones to abide.

Agi Kiss

May 3, 2005

I first met Jane years ago, on mission in Sudan. She had just recently joined the Bank and was concerned about how her family would cope with her frequent absences. She used to call them every evening, and was full of news about them the next morning when we would have breakfast together. I really enjoyed working with her then and since, and will miss her very much

Marie-Helene Bricknell

May 2, 2005

I remember getting to know Jane and her husband at a dinner in Warsaw about 4-5 years ago. We spent a very pleasant evening together sharing some very personal experiences, with Jane frequently mentioning her daughters. She was very proud of them. We corresponded off and on after that and always spent some time together when we met up at one of those events that brought us and a number of colleagues together. We exchanged a few EMs in the beginning when she was diagnosed. What I most remember about Jane is her joy for life, her deep bonds with her family, her ability to listen and comfort others. I will miss her.

Showing 1 - 15 of 15 results