David Maurice Holdt

1941 - 2019

David Maurice Holdt of Tolland, Connecticut, passed away peacefully on December 6, 2019 at the age of 78 from Alzheimer's Disease. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio on May 12, 1941 to the late Jacob and Henrietta Stewart Holdt before moving to Stratford, Connecticut. He attended Wesleyan University, receiving his BA in government in 1963. In 1967, David graduated with an MA in History from Duke University, and later earned his Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in the humanities and writing from Wesleyan in 1993. After a transformative trip to Uganda and Somalia, he went on to teach history at Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut from 1963 to 1965. His time at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, PA from 1967 to 1970 began his lifelong relationship with Quakerism. He returned to Connecticut, teaching at the experimental Westledge School from 1970 to 1977. For the next thirty years (1978-2008), David was a beloved teacher and mentor at Watkinson School in Hartford. He also taught at the University of Hartford from 1995 to 2011, where he received the Sustained Excellence in Teaching Award. A talented, prolific writer of numerous published poems, short stories, essays, prose and plays, he attended the famous Breadloaf Writing Conference, Wesleyan Writers Conference, and was the Artist-in-Residence at the St. Lawrence Theatre festival. David leaves behind his partner, Karen I. Case, stepdaughter, Amanda Frost and her husband Michael and son, Sef; as well as his daughter, Brooke Stratton, her husband Peter and children, James and Ada; and his son, Christopher Wood-Holdt, his partner Jenna Wetzel and their daughter, Avery. Predeceased by his brother, Richard Holdt, he is survived by his sister-in-law, Mimi Holdt, niece and nephew, Kristen and Brian Holdt. He leaves behind his former spouse, Sandra Wood Forand. In addition to books and history, David was a lover of rivers, at one time canoeing the length of the Hudson. He adored long hikes in the woods with Sky, his beloved German Shepherd, as well as baseball caps, cowboy boots, and the Red Sox. Memorial Services will be held on December 21st at 10:00 AM at the Religious Society of Friends (144 Quaker Ln. S, West Hartford, CT) and at 2:30 PM at the Watkinson School (180 Bloomfield Ave, Hartford, CT). Donations in David's memory can be made to the Alzheimer's Association, Tolland Conservation Commission or Watkinson School.