Catherine Darrah Holderness

January 25, 1949 - June 12, 2024

Catherine Darrah Holderness died peacefully on June 12, 2024, surrounded by her children and sister after a brief illness.

Catherine was born on January 25, 1949, in San Francisco, California. She lived a full and beautiful life that took her from the Bay Area to Truckee, California, then Greensboro, North Carolina, and finally to New York City, which was probably not her ideal place to retire but was where all three of her children had settled. She spent her final years in Brooklyn as a devoted Granny to her beloved grandchildren.

She was a trailblazer with a passion for business, education, and international travel. From being one of the first women to earn an MBA from the University of Nevada-Reno to teaching at Salem College to administering the MBA program at UNCG's Bryan School and finally to leading the UNC system's international exchange program, she led a challenging and fulfilling career in business education.

Catherine was a firecracker, and her passions included international travel (she made it around the world twice!), spirited debates about politics and business strategy, gardening, and her grandchildren. She is survived by her three children, Carolina, Alexander, and Cates Holderness, and her four grandchildren, Noel, Julian, Charles, and Reid. She also leaves behind her sister, Laura Darrah Johnson and niece Lindsey, and Howard and Laura, who she loved dearly, and her cherished friends and former colleagues.

In lieu of flowers, she would have appreciated any donations to WUNC. She will be laid to rest at Fallen Leaf Lake in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, where she experienced so much joy. If you would like to attend a memorial in Greensboro later this summer, please contact a family member.