Dining Hall 'Gentle Giant' Dies Suddenly

There will be no carving table in Adams House this Wednesday, and when it does return, Sam Holman will not be there cheerfully serving oversized portions to protesting students. Holman, who worked with Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) for 28 years, passed away of a heart attack on New Year’s Eve.

“He was always ready with a big hug and he was always thinking about the students,” said Judith Palfrey, Adams House co-master. “He was an absolutely wonderful person and I’m going to miss him so much.”

Holman’s death follows the death of his son in early December and his nephew in November.

“No one wants to say it, but he died of a broken heart,” said David Seley, the manager of Adams Dining Hall.

“He hasn’t been the same since then,” Seley said. “He was still smiling, friendly, gregarious, good-natured, but you could tell he was hurting inside.”

Despite the tragedy of his son’s death—he was shot three times a couple of blocks from his home—Holman returned to work the day after the funeral.

“He could never say no,” said Gabriella M. Pucci, who worked with Holman for 14 years. “He always wanted to help.”

Born in rural South Carolina in 1954, Holman dropped out of school in his early teens to support his family by working in cotton fields. He moved to Boston in the 1970s with his wife and began working for Harvard University Dining Services, becoming a member of the “Adams Family” 15 years ago.

Holman was a man known among students and colleagues alike for his warmth and equanimity. At approximately 6’4”, the big man sometimes called the Gentle Giant helped make Adams House feel like a home, said Adams House Committee co-chair Gina M. Bruno ’05.

“He was bigger than anyone else in the house,” recalled Bruno. “But big in a safe way, like Santa Claus. He was almost sort of like another dad figure.”

“It’s not that he was a talkative person, he was an inquisitive person,” said Edward Childs, a cook in Adams House who worked with Holman for more than two decades.

“He didn’t know how to read and write so when you told a story, he really listened. It’s one of the reasons I think people gravitated toward him,” Childs said.

Holman, who lived with his family in Roxbury, was also committed to improving his neighborhood.

“These are not houses with yards and walkways,” said Bruno, who visited Holman’s home after his son’s murder, “But he was so proud that he could provide that for his family. I’m sure he wanted more, but he never gave the suggestion that he wasn’t happy or grateful for what he had. I don’t think you see a lot of that here.”

No plans have been finalized to commemorate Holman within the Adams community, but Bruno and Seley hope that whatever is picked will involve community service.

In the past few years, Holman had enrolled in a literacy program run through Harvard, and was scheduled to participate in Adams Drag Night. He leaves behind a wife, a daughter, two sons, and several grandchildren.

—Staff writer Natalie I. Sherman can be reached at nsherman@fas.harvard.edu.