Pearl Jones Holland

Funeral service to be held Saturday September 23, 2023 at 12:00 PM at St Paul AME Church, 402 West Edenton Street, Raleigh, NC 27603.  A visitation precedes the service beginning at 11:00 AM. The interment will follow the service at Carolina Biblical Gardens, 1530 Creech Road, Garner, NC 27529. The public viewing will be held Friday September 22, 2023 from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM in the C.A. Haywood, Sr. Memorial Chapel  where family members will be present to accept greetings from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM.******Honors by the  The Raleigh Chapter of The Links, Inc. will begin at 5:30 PM *******  

*** Please note: In lieu of flowers, the Holland family requests that contributions be made to the Dr. Charles and Pearl J. Holland Endowment Scholarship through the NCCU Foundation, Inc., c/o the Dr. Charles and Pearl J. Holland Endowment.

NCCU Foundation, Inc.

P.O. Box 52466

Durham, NC 27717

To view the funeral service on LiveStream at 12:00 pm, Saturday, September 23, use one of the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/stpaulameraleigh

https://stpaulamechurchraleighnc.org/online-streaming/

May the Work I’ve Done, Speak for Me….

Pearl Jones Holland was born to the late Theresa McMillan Jones and Johnny Robert Jones on January 17, 1936 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She peacefully departed this life on Friday, September 15, 2023 at 2004 Tee Dee Street, the family home.

Mrs. Holland was preceded in death by her husband of forty-two years, the late Dr. Charles Vernon Holland, and she is survived by their three children, Dr. Michael Holland and his wife Deborah of Cary, Cheryl Fenner and her husband Chris of Knightdale, and Derek Holland and his wife Krista of Wilmington. She is also survived by her only grandchild, Xavier Jordan Holland, a senior at East Carolina University. 

Mrs. Holland attended elementary school in Cumberland County, North Carolina, and began learning about finances and business at an early age, while working after school in the family’s grocery store. Upon graduation from E.E. Smith High School in Fayetteville, she made her mark at North Carolina College in Durham, where she majored in Commerce. As a student, she  was active in Student Government, the Photography Club, and also worked in the dining hall. She met her beloved husband, Charles, while in college, and she graduated from NCCU in 1957, earning a Bachelor of Science degree, and furthered her education, taking courses at Kent State University Extension.

With a varied work history, Mrs. Holland’s light shone wherever she served. She was an educator in elementary and middle schools in Lorain County, Ohio and the first black to work at Buckeye Federal Savings and Loan in Columbus, Ohio. She also worked in the business office at Fayetteville State University, was employed by Lieutenant Governor the late Bob Jordan, and worked with her husband and son as the office manager for Holland and Holland Eye Care Center.

Mrs. Holland was committed to public service, volunteering her time on the Hospice Board of Wake County, served as a reading tutor, and worked with the visually and hearing impaired. To support students in need at her beloved alma mater, NCCU, she established the Dr. Charles and Pearl J. Holland Endowment through the NCCU Foundation, Inc. She was politically active, and campaigned for NC Lieutenant Governor the late Bob Jordan, her husband, the late Dr. Charles Holland, who obtained a seat on the Wake County School Board, and the late Bernard Allen, House Representative for District 33.

The organizations that Mrs. Holland devoted her time to were The Raleigh Chapter of The Links, Inc., Jack and Jill of America, and Southeast Raleigh AARP. She was a faithful Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Silhouette, and an Archousa of the Gamma Sigma Boule’ of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc. The Holland family was honored by Strengthening the Black Family in 1992. Her hobbies included gardening, nurturing her many houseplants, cooking, reading, going to Topsail Beach, and spending time with family and friends, often listening, and offering sound advice. 

Faith, and a dedication to walk with Jesus, were central in Mrs. Holland’s life. She was a member of St. Paul AME Church from 1969 to 2011, when she joined Martin Street Baptist Church.  She was a member of the choir, on the usher board, and numerous auxilaries in the church. An active participant in Bible Study Fellowship, she also enjoyed participating in Raleigh Christian Women, and Bible Application Class. She loved hymns, playing the organ, celebrating with her birthday group, and gathering with her monthly prayer group, The Faithful Five.

Mrs. Holland will be missed tremendously, not only by her immediate family, but a host of friends and extended family will be inspired by the life that she lived. Among family members who will remember Pearl in their thoughts and hearts include her brother, John Hood Jones (Mary) of Fayetteville, North Carolina; two sisters-in-law, Dorothy Weaver of Durham, North Carolina and Phyllis O’Neal of Phoenix, Arizona, and brother-in-law, Julian Leotaud of Baldwin New York. Also cherishing her memory are nephews Christopher Jones (Jeruvia), Javon Jones, Darrell Weaver, Keith Leotaud, Kevin Holland, Billy Johnson, and Richard Johnson; nieces Roslyn Johnson Burnett, A’drienne Johnson, Donna Weaver, Tiffany Shinkonde, Crystal Leotaud-Ramos,  Marilyn Johnson, Pearl Johnson, and Angela Wilson. She is also survived by her godson, Andre’ Allen. She was preceded in death by her brother, Robert H. Jones. 

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