Obituary of Margaret Alice Holt

Margaret Alice Edmonds Holt, the third child of the late Deacon Roger Eugene Edmonds and Deaconess Monwilla Douglas Johnson Edmonds, was born in Baltimore on Friday, October 11, 1929. She went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, April 13, 2024. In addition to her parents, she is predeceased by her sisters, Velma and Bernice; her brothers, Joseph Dundee (aka, "JD") and Roger, Jr. (aka, "Sonny"); her husband, Capt. Charles Deperial Holt, Sr., and her first-born, Charles, Jr. (aka "Chip"). Educated in the Baltimore City Public Schools, Margaret was Salutatorian of her graduating class at Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School. Her favorite subject was English. She loved to write and would offer assistance to others with their compositions. She matriculated to the (then) Morgan State College, but left during her junior year to travel the world with her new husband, Sergeant Charles D. Holt. The two were married on August 12, 1951, at Zion 's original home at Eager and Bond Streets — next door to the Edmonds family home and business — by organizing pastor, Rev. Matthew Walter Wilkerson. From this union, three children were born: Charles, Jr., who departed this life on January 10, 2003, Rev. Bryan Dundee Holt of Harlem, NY, and Zion's own Deaconess Allison Stacey Holt. The Edmonds family had deep Southern religious roots and values. Margaret's maternal great-grandfather, Sandy Johnson, was one of the founders of the Odell Baptist Church in Littleton, NC. She has fond memories of her paternal grandfather, Samuel Justis Edmonds, singing songs like "Working On a Building" when she and her siblings would go down for the summer. Her paternal grandmother, Lina Belle Hardy Edmonds, was the ultimate church woman and a stalwart member of Zion. Christian education was central to the life of the Edmonds family. The children were taught to recite a Bible verse before eating and all attended Zion. Margaret was baptized at the age of 8. She, her brother JD and sister, Velma, were always ready, willing and able to sing at BYU events. Sis. Holt sang with the Youth Choir, and "graduated" into the fellowship of the Senior Choir, singing soprano. One of her greatest experiences in Zion was being selected to attend a National Baptist Convention meeting in Denver, which prepared her to serve as Principal of Vacation Bible School in 1962. From November 1963 through January 1966, the Holts lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, returning to Baltimore when Capt. Holt was deployed to Vietnam. They returned to Zion, and Margaret returned to her job as a stenographer / Dictaphone operator for the Baltimore City Department of Social Services. She loved the work, as it allowed her the opportunity to be part of a system that helped those in need, and where she could use both her technical and writing skills. She joked that since many social workers didn't use good English, she corrected their grammar as she transcribed what they said. At her retirement in 1993, she was praised for being a dedicated and caring perfectionist. After retirement, she became active in senior activities at the Waxter Center and the Sandtown-Winchester Center. She enjoyed her acting roles with "Ages On Stages," entertaining at schools, and centers for seniors and handicapped people throughout Baltimore. Though small in stature, Sis. Holt was a giant presence wherever she was. She was a "take charge," "get it right" kind of person, traits she passed on to her children. She loved her family intensely, with cousins and in-laws who were like siblings, and nieces and nephews who were like her own children. She was a warrior parent who showed up for her children, grandchildren, and great grands. Fiercely independent, she lived alone in her three-story home, thinking nothing about walking up those 16 concrete steps to the front door and the 14 wooden steps (with a turn) from the first to the second floor. Margaret leaves to cherish her memory, her children, Bryan and Stacey; her baby brother, Louis Edmonds; grandchildren, LaTrice Holt, Giovanni White (Anthony), Charles D. Holt, III (Terashelle) and Ashleigh Owens (Johan); great-grands Kristopher Holt, Lauryn White, Charlize Holt, Cheyenne Robinson, Charles (aka, "Jeremiah") Holt, and Harlem and Malcolm Owens; sisters-in-law Doris Edmonds Holt, Eleanor Holt, and Jeanne Edmonds; aunt, Ruth Edmonds; special niece/daughter, Cecelia Bowman; "Just Cousins," the King/Troxler family, nieces, nephews and an abundance of other relatives and friends.