Colonel Daniel ‘Rex’ Holt
Rex was born at home in Wayne County, Tennessee and raised in Cloverdale, Alabama where he grew up sharecropping and picking cotton. He graduated from Central High School before going on to Florence State Teachers College (now University of North Alabama) where he was in ROTC and met Peggy Jones, who he married after graduation on June 26, 1954. He commissioned in the Army and together they were stationed in many locations in the U.S. and overseas. They had four children in four different duty stations. Rex served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars and rose through the ranks as a Ranger and Military Policeman. He retired from the Army in 1983 and remained in Alexandria, Virginia where he later held positions at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, American Vocational Association, Airbus and Mount Vernon Country Club where he maintained golf carts. He was also involved in his community and a fixture at the neighborhood pool. He was the “Happiest Man in America” and had an enormous heart, quick smile, wonderful sense of humor and could fix anything.
Rex was predeceased by his wife, Peggy; his parents, Joe and Ollie Holt and brothers, Ralph, Don and Ben Holt. He left behind his children, Dave (Claire) Holt, Harriet (Dave) Baker, Phyllis (Chris) Woodson and Joe (Deb) Holt, as well as grandchildren, Drew (Talli) Holt, Jordan (Dallas) Jansen, Melissa (Ryan) Zutell, Coleman Baker, Logan Baker, Daniel Woodson, Sawyer Woodson, Owen Holt and Catherine Holt and great-grandson, Banks Jansen, as well as extended family and friends.
A funeral service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery on a future date.
