Category: 1935

Edwin G. Holt ’35 (Lt. Col., U.S. Army) passed away in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on June 2 and went to eternal peace with the Lord. He was a friend, counselor, and leader to all who knew him and will be greatly missed. Mr. Holt was born in Greensboro, N.C., in 1914. He graduated from Davidson with a commission as an officer in the U.S. Army. He married Dorothy Creech of Smithfield, N.C., and went to work in New York City for Cone Mills, one of the world’s largest textile companies. Mr. Holt was recalled in 1942 by the Army and assigned to the 329th Regiment, 83rd Division for training in preparation for the invasion of Europe. He landed at Normandy, commanded troops and fought through the hedgerows near Carentan, France, and was wounded in the fighting. After recovering from his wounds, he returned to France and commanded two Allied prisoner of war camps holding over 100,000 prisoners. He is the recipient of numerous medals and awards, including the Combat Infantry Medal, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Battle Ribbons with Two Stars. After the war, he returned to work for Cone Mills, living in New Orleans, then Dallas, and was promoted to vice president and national sales manager in New York City. He lived in Summit, N.J., for 30 years and was a member of Central Presbyterian Church and Canoe Brook Country Club. He retired after a 44-year career at Cone Mills and moved to Thousand Oaks, Calif., in 1981 so that he and his wife, Dorothy, could be near their son’s family. After moving to Thousand Oaks, he enjoyed playing golf and worshiping with friends and family at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church. He was active in the Sergeant Michael A. DiRaimondo Chapter of Military Order of the Purple Heart and the Conejo Valley Chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars, and received the Patrick Henry Medal for Patriotism. His loving wife, Dorothy, passed away in 1999. Edwin was blessed with a very close relationship with his family and friends, and with his faith. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He is survived by his son, Edwin C. Holt (Susan), 295 Bethany Ct., Thousand Oaks, CA 91360; his grandson, Edwin L. Holt; and his granddaughter, Kari Endries (Robert), and her sons, Alexander and Jack.

Sarah Elizabeth Jetton ’35 of Davidson, N.C., died May 29, 2007. She retired from her business career in 1978, where she was employed by predecessor companies of Barclays/American Corporation as executive secretary to Edwin P. Latimer and Herman A. Moore for more than 30 years. Since her retirement she had been active in the community, especially the Davidson Senior Services and the Davidson Retirement Community. She served as a board member of each of these organizations. She was a lifelong member of the Davidson College Presbyterian Church. Her cousins, Betty J. Liffrig and Hugh Jetton, survive her. Her parents and her brother, William Howard Jetton ’30, preceded her in death.

Ben Lacy Rose ’35 of Richmond, Va., professor emeritus of homiletics and pastoral leadership at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond and former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.), died November 13, 2006. He earned his B.D., Th.M., and Th.D. at Union, where he was a former trustee. He was awarded an honorary doctor of divinity from Davidson in 1974. In February, he was honored at Westminster Canterbury Richmond, where, as a resident, he had enriched retirees’ lives by helping lead worship services, lecture series, and Bible studies, and by visiting residents. He taught preaching from 1956 to 1973 at what is now Union Theological Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian Education, occupying the Benjamin Rice Lacy Professorship named for his uncle. He once estimated he had written more than 2,000 sermons and helped train more than 600 ministers. From 1971 to 1972, he served as moderator of the 953,000-member Southern branch of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.) Considered a moderate, he was known for his stance for unity within the church. For more than two decades, Dr. Rose’s “Q&A” column delighted readers in 194,000 homes where his denomination’s magazine, the Presbyterian Survey, circulated. Although he retired from the church in 1978, he was supply pastor at Hebron Presbyterian Church in Manakin until 1999. His nearly 70-year stand in the pulpit took him to churches in North Carolina, Central Presbyterian Church in Bristol, and Ginter Park Presbyterian Church in Richmond. During World War II, he served as an Army chaplain in Europe, earning the Bronze Star, and was a retired Army Reserve colonel. His wife, Anne Claiborne Thompson Rose, died in 2005. Survivors include a son, Ben Lacy Rose Jr. of Richmond; two daughters, Anne Nancy Vosler of St. Louis, Miss., and Margaret Rockwell Day of Noank, Conn.; and four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.