February 5, 2009 would have been Bertha Holt’s 105th birthday
by John Aeby, Director of Communications
Eugene, Oregon–People who knew Bertha Holt often mention her energy and pace of life. A brisk walk wasn’t fast enough for all she had to do in her day; she ran nearly everywhere she went. News media some
times referred to her as “the jogging grandma,” and even in her 90s, she was still trotting down the lane near her little house in Creswell, Oregon, or around the track at the local middle school. To this day, if you know what you’re looking for, you can see the distance markers she set out alongside Gibson Lane.
But of course, she was so much more than running and energy.
She and her husband Harry founded Holt International because they believed that children should have mothers and fathers of their own. It was simply a matter of obedience to God to pursue an opportunity He set before them. Of course, few people would have recognized this as an opportunity, only the many formidable obstacles that lay in the way of such an idea.
Later on Bertha’s faith helped lead this organization through difficult times. When her husband, Harry, died of a heart attack in 1964, many people assumed that the Holt program would simply close up. But Bertha said, “From the beginning this has been God’s work. If He wants it to continue, it will.” She had a remarkable way of bringing complex issues down to a simple choice to follow God and trust Him for the results.
She adored the children in Holt programs around the world, and she relished every chance to be with the wonderful blend of people represented by Holt adoptive families. Whenever families asked to photograph their adopted children with her, she would include the birth children as well.
Bertha held a special place in her heart for waiting children–those with disabilities or medical conditions and those who were older or siblings. She spent many months every year at the Holt Ilsan Center where over 300 disabled residents live and strive to develop the skills for living. To them, Bertha wasn’t just a symbolic grandma; she was their halmoni, grandmother.
On New Years Day, according to Korean tradition, people traveled to the home of their elders to perform a formal bow called a sebae. At Ilsan the residents would come to Bertha at her daughter, Molly’s house. I recall watching as one resident with severely spastic cerebral palsy struggled with tremendous effort and concentration to come to Bertha. In response and with a beautiful gesture of honoring this herculean effort, Grandma stood to acknowledge the bow.
Bertha passed away in July 2000. But her presence remains strong at Holt International. Her legacy continues: faith in God and love for children
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Thank you for this post, for sharing a bit more about Grandma Holt. I love hearing stories and memories of her. To me, it isn’t “kindof like” learning about a past relative’s life – it is most definitely learning about a past relative’s life. Though I only met her one time, just briefly, for a picture (in which she motioned for my older sister – my parent’s only biological child – to come and be in the picture too), she, Mr. Holt, and Molly have had a profound impact on who I am today and who I strive to become. They inspire me to approach my work here at Holt with the same passion and dedication to others that they had (and Molly still has). I hope that Grandma would be pleased with my work for the families and children of this agency, it is the best way I know to express my honor for her life and service. I imagine many others who work for Holt feel similarly. I know we are all thinking of her today.
Thank you, John, for sharing this little glimpse of Grandma Holt. You knew her well, and she admired you much. I am sure you have many, many more “Grandma stories” you could tell, as well as gather from those who were blessed to spend time in her company. Perhaps someday you will be able to record more of them in book form
I am sure it would be a best seller!
I was trying to think of a few adjectives that I might use to describe Grandma, and found it impossible to limit it to just a few. So many immediately pop into my mind: humble, gracious, joyful, faithful, Godly, intelligent, strong, insightful, practical, loving, compassionate, wise, enthusiastic, energetic, tentacious…and on the list could go on. But if I were to have to limit it to something that truly set Grandma apart in my mind, it would be that she was always so thankful. For everything. “I’m just so thankful for…” was a part of most of her converations. And she so especially wanted everyone to know, how thankful she was to have Jesus as her Savior. She wanted everyone to have the forgiveness of sins and assurance of eternal life that accepting Him as Savior brings. She wanted to see everyone again in heaven.
I could say how blessed or proud I am to be a part of Holt’s extended family, to have our wonderful daughters because of the work of so many at Holt International, to have been given the chance to know Grandma, but I know she would want me to just say, “I’m so thankful…”