James Hartwell Holden

1935 - 2016

James Hartwell Holden, age 80, died Friday, February 19, 2016, at his home in Oklahoma City. He was the only child of Rex Hartwell Holden and Agnes Maney Holden, born December 23, 1935.

Jim started school at Villa Teresa when he was 4 years old. He completed grade school at John Carroll School in Oklahoma City and attended Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa until the last semester of high school. He was graduated from Classen High School in 1953 and received his Bachelor of Business in Finance from The University of Oklahoma in 1957.

At OU he became a proud member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Through that association he formed friendships he enjoyed for the rest of his life.

Jim met his wife of 53 years, JoAnn Hodgson, in a class their Junior year at OU. ln 1962, as both were working in New York City, they were married in Grace Episcopal Church, Brooklyn Heights, New York.

Jim's career began in the Trust Department of the venerable Bank of New York, the nation's oldest bank, founded by Alexander Hamilton. He was the first junior executive from West of the Mississippi River ever to be hired. This was a wonderful time of growth and learning from many who Jim considered to be the brightest minds in the financial industry and among the finest people he ever knew.

ln 1966 Jim and JoAnn decided it was time to "come home". lt was time for these two only children to be nearer their parents and for their children to know their grandparents.

Jim partnered with James R. Tolbert lll to form Holden Tolbert and Co., an investment advisory firm unique to Oklahoma City at the time. The firm continued its specialized service to high net worth clients for 35 years, until Jim retired and closed the business in 2002.

Jim was the consummate family man. He delighted in his children and grandchildren, and no cousin was too distant to be remembered. ln retirement, genealogy research was one of his main activities, leading him to friendships with relatives in France and to fascinating stories of ancestors beginning with Revolutionary War days in the United States.

Jim's favorite place in the world was his mountain cabin outside Creede, Colorado. This was the place to literally "get away from it all". Built in 1980, many happy summers were spent fly fishing in the most remote streams he could find, relaxing with family and friends, and enjoying the spectacular scenery.

Surviving Jim are his wife, JoAnn. 3 children and their spouses: James Hartwell Jr. (Hart) and his wife, Alexandra, Adington, VA; Ann Elizabeth and her husband, Kendall Parrish of Norman; Margaret Monroe and her husband, Trey Donnelly, of Oklahoma City. 5 grandchildren: Katherine Holden, Oliver Holden-Moses, Anna, Elizabeth and Sarah Jantzen. 4 step-grandchildren: Audrey and Bridget Parrish, Conor and Colin Donnelly. Many treasured cousins and friends.

lmportant to Jim has been his role in bringing to The University of Oklahoma the Davis UWC Scholars Program, founded by Jim's friend, Shelby Collum Davis of New York. The program sponsors a select group of international students for four-year degrees at 91 colleges and Universities across the United States, OU being the only site in the Southwest. OU's program has grown from 4 students eight years ago to 165 students from more than 60 countries today and has won the Davis Cup for enrolling the most Freshmen three years in a row.

ln lieu of flowers, Jim's family would be honored by donations to the Davis UWC Program directed to the OU Foundation, Fund #33141, Holden UWC Scholars Fund, 100 Timberdell Rd., Norman, OK, 73019, or to any charity you choose.

Services for Jim will be held 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at the 1st Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City. Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 23, 2016 at Hahn-Cook/Street& Draper.

Arrangements under the direction of Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper Funeral Directors, Oklahoma City, OK.