A Page from Holt History
Nurse, farmer’s wife, and mother, Bertha Holt was simply “Grandma” to thousands of children adopted through Holt International, to all of the adoptive families including birth children, and especially to thousands of children who waited and hoped to be adopted.
After Harry Holt died in 1964, Bertha had the grace and courage to continue the work she and her husband had started 8 years earlier.
For the next 36 years, Bertha’s faith inspired the growth and development of Holt International. During her life she was named “Mother of the Year,” logged more than a million flight miles traveling for Holt and advocating for homeless and disabled children, and set a world record for her age group in the 400 meter run.
Bertha Holt passed away at the age of 96 on July 31, 2000. She is buried next to Harry on a hillside at Holt’s Ilsan Center in South Korea, overlooking the facility for homeless and disabled children.
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