John Gill Holland

J. Gill Holland, Professor Emeritus at Davidson College, passed away peacefully on February 24, 2025 at the age of 88. Professor Holland was born October 15, 1936 to Dr. and Mrs. John G. Holland in Lynch, Kentucky and grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia. He graduated valedictorian from The Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va. and studied English at Washington and Lee University. He graduated Cum Laude, Omicron Delta Kappa, received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award and was captain of the wrestling team. His love of learning led him to a PhD at UNC-Chapel Hill, focusing on British and American literature. 

After teaching stints at the University of Redlands, the University of Houston and Duke University, he found a home at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina where he taught in the English department for over 42 years and chaired the Sesquicentennial Celebration. He loved his students, and was beloved in return. Students admired his “formal yet informal” style as well as his passion for the lost art of creative, expressive writing. He always wore a tie, never missed a wrestling match or basketball game, and relished in receiving fond correspondence from past graduates. Dr. Holland’s office was continually cluttered with stacks of essays, drafts, and outlines, and yet he had an uncanny ability to quickly find the appropriate document to share with an eager student. His unique approach to teaching was widely recognized, as evidenced by his winning the Omicron Delta Kappa Teaching Award and the Hunter Hamilton Love of Teaching Award. 

Gill’s happiest moment was his marriage to Siri, the love of his life whom he wed in Oslo, Norway in 1961. He loved sharing their love of language, culture, and arts as they travelled thoughout Europe and Asia with their three children. Papa, or Bestepappa, as the grandchildren call him, was a consummate family man, and always had lots of love to give his children and grandchildren, and was immensely proud of them.

Part of his career was spent on three teaching sabbaticals in Taiwan and Beijing, and he was a visiting Fulbright Professor at the University of Lodz in Poland. Among his publications were a book of translations of the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (“We are Flames Which Pour from the Earth – The Diaries of Edvard Munch)”, a book of translations of Classical Chinese poetry (“Keep an Eye on South Mountain”) and books of poetry (“Pocahontas and the Drunken Waiter” and “Everglading”). His work appears in compendia such as “Contemporary Poetry of North Carolina” and “Approaches to Teaching Dickens’ ‘David Copperfield’” and he received numerous awards for fiction and poetry. A founding member of the Southern Comparative Literature Association, he brought to light the first true use of the term “stream of consciousness” in the South Atlantic Review. 

He will be deeply missed by many and, in addition to his wife, Siri, he is survived by his son Gill (Augusta), daughters Astri (Barrett) and Siri Lise (Robb), and 11 grandchildren Burns, Elizabeth, Robb, Jr., Shaw, Astri, Maya, Ellie, Poe, Cora, Owsley and Lilla. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Davidson College Wrestling Department, the Pines Support Fund and Davidson College Presbyterian Church. A service will be held at The Pines in the Davidson Room on Sunday March 2, 2025 at 2pm. The family would like to thank especially all the tireless, loving and compassionate caregivers at the Pines.