Holly Charlene Hart

On December 26, 1977, the day after Christmas, Holly was born to Frances Shirley and Joseph Hart, a day that ensured she would only ever receive combination birthday/Christmas gifts, to her dismay.

A child of the 80s, Holly spent her youth watching MTV, fighting with her younger sister, Jessica, hanging with friends, and memorizing facts about boy bands. At Baldwin Jr/Sr High, she excelled in language arts and cultivated a talent for arguing. This and an innate sense of fairness, made Holly a fierce ally for all of her friends, even into adulthood. At her graduation in 1996, Holly dreamed of becoming a lawyer and eventually, a Supreme Court Justice.

In 1999, Holly gave birth to her eldest son and started the work of her life: raising her family. Nothing was more important to Holly than her four children: Xzavier, John Calvin (2003), Savannah (2006), and King (2017).

Holly worked hard every day to provide for her children, including more than 23 years at the Publix Warehouse, where her fellow colleagues became not only longtime friends, but truly a second family. To them she was a trusted advisor on all matters, someone to depend on and always willing to listen without judgement, like a sister, like a mother, always a friend.

On January 2nd, 2021, Holly lost her only daughter, Savannah Alexandrea Michelle Swan. Her life was never the same. Holly spent her remaining years remembering and honoring Savannah in every way that she could, and encouraging others to cherish their time with their children.

Life taught Holly many lessons, but her children taught her the most. From Xzavier she learned to be a mother, from John she learned that no two children are alike, from Savannah she learned to love hard and fast because you may have less time than you think, and from King she learned that even in the deepest sorrow, there are moments of joy.

We know that now and forever she has only joy as she joins Savannah, her brother Robert “Skeeter” Buckner, and her parents, Frances Shirley and Joseph Hart.

Holly is survived by three children, Xzavier Smith, John Calvin Smith, and King Elijah Smith, aunt and stand-in grandma, Toni “Nono” Simonton, sister, Jessica Hart (Madeleine Doiron), significant other, Anthony Swan, and several nieces and nephews.

Family and friends will be celebrating Holly’s life on Friday, August 9th at 3:00 PM at Dinsmore Baptist Church, 10500 Old Kings Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32219. Please join us in our sorrow and our joy.