Roberta Baxter Holt, 68

CHEVY CHASE, Md. - Roberta Baxter Holt, of Chevy Chase, and Rehoboth Beach, Del., whose keen intellect, wry humor and impeccable social graces brought her a lifetime of professional success as well as enduring and enriching personal relationships, passed away on Sunday, March 15, 2009, in Talbot Hospice in Easton. She was 68.Dr. Holt had a long and successful career as a psychotherapist with a family oriented practice in Chevy Chase, an affiliation with the Groome Child Guidance Center of Sibley Hospital and the Georgetown University Medical School. In 1990, she became a faculty member of the Georgetown University Family Center, Inc., now the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, remaining there until the time of her death. As one of the first people to be part of that then young organization, Dr. Holt found great satisfaction in helping it grow and flourish. Born on March 14, 1941, in Federalsburg, she was the daughter of the late Mary Baxter and Robert W. Holt of Federalsburg. She graduated from Federalsburg High School class of 1959, where she was president of her class. Over the years, Dr. Holt remained connected to her Federalsburg roots. She served as chairman of class reunions held every five years since graduation, her class was the only one to have continuous reunions. She received her B.A. in Sociology at The University of Delaware in 1963. In 1966, she completed her master's degree in social work at the University of Minnesota whose Freudian atmosphere at that time intrigued her. She then moved to Washington where she was long time D.C. area resident. She entered the postgraduate course in Family Systems Theory and Family Psychotherapy at Georgetown University, Department of Psychiatry. In 1977, she was a research associate in the Laboratory of Brain Evolution and Behavior at the National Institutes of Mental Health. She received her doctorate in Social Work at the Catholic University of America in 1986. Her father was president of Holt Oil, a large business in its time, on the Eastern Shore founded by her grandfather. This gave her a unique opportunity to observe family relations in business as well as in the personal arena. She leaves behind her brother, Haines Baxter Holt and his wife Nancy of Easton; nephews, Travis and Cameron Holt both of Easton; and legions of admiring and affectionate friends and colleagues. Funeral services will be conducted 11 a.m. Friday at the St. Mark's United Methodist Church, 100 Peach Blossom Lane, Easton, MD 21601 with the Rev. Gary Moore officiating. Burial will take place in her family's lot at Hillcrest Cemetery in Federalsburg, MD. Bobbie Holt exemplified her personal philosophy of doing something productive every day to further yourself or humankind. Not one to suffer fools lightly, she was a warm, considerate and generous friend, family member and colleague. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in her memory be made to the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, 4400 MacArthur Blvd.,N.W. 103 Washington, D.C. 20007 or The Rehoboth Yoga Studio, 20245 Bay Vista Road, Suite #101, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Williamson Funeral Home, Federalsburg.For notes of condolence, please visit www.williamsonfuneral.com.