Carter Hamilton Holland, 24, died on August 15, 2020, at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, from cardiac arrest.
With music as his first love, Carter’s talent was only surpassed by his kindness, unconditional love for his wide circle of friends, wry wit and calm dignity as the embodiment of a true Southern gentleman.
A graduate of St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Carter was a “Lifer” having started his schooling there in kindergarten. At SSSAS he excelled on the cross country team and the orchestra. During those years he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and was honored with the Great Son award from Alpine Camp for Boys in Mentone, Alabama. Carter received a degree in English from the College of Charleston.
Carter shared his musical talents as a composer and multi-instrumentalist in a Charleston band and at garden parties to support the Historic Alexandria Foundation. He launched his career path at the I’On Club in South Carolina and Potomack Company Auctions in Alexandria before becoming a journalist for Law Street Media in Washington, D.C., following in the career footsteps of his father.
Carter and Hamilton are family surnames, and as the only grandchild on one side of his family he was amused when referred to as “the heir” by his grandparents’ friends. He delighted in the historic atmosphere of his Old Town Alexandria hometown and Charleston, and he was a member of The Order of the First Families of Virginia and the Huguenot Society of South Carolina.
The source of Carter’s greatest happiness were his family and friends and especially the times he spent with his extended relatives at the family’s rural mountain compound on the Little River in Mentone, Alabama and at Kiawah, SC. He loved his cat Tommy.
Carter is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Steven Asbury Holland (Lucie Howard Stephens) of Alexandria; grandmother Mrs. Gerry Underwood Stephens of Chattanooga, TN; grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Donald R. Worley (Mary Frances Beane Holland) of Chattanooga; aunt Allison Ward Stephens and uncles Gerry U. Stephens, Jr. and A.W. Holland, III of Chattanooga and numerous beloved cousins.
A Service for the Celebration and Thanksgiving for Carter’s life was held at the Virginia Theological Seminary on August 22, and he will be laid to rest in a private family ceremony in Chattanooga. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Alexandria, College of Charleston departments of Music or English and Mentone Educational Resources Foundation (Alabama).