Jason Holton

HOLTON, Jason Daniel 32 of New York City, New York passed away Friday morning, July 31st 2009, after a courageous battle against cancer. He was surrounded by those who loved him and cared for him. Jason was born December 5th, 1976 in Boone, North Carolina. In 1981 Jason moved with the family to Dallas, Texas where Jason lived until 1991 when they relocated to Pegram, Tennessee. There, Jason attended Harpeth High School in Kingston Springs, Tennessee and he graduated from Harpeth High with a High School Diploma in 1995. He then attended Memphis State University, and studied in the department of English. As a part of the university exchange program with China in 1999, Jason traveled to Shenzhen, China, where he taught English language and American culture to Chinese middle school and adult students for one year. Jason followed this experience in 2002 as he moved to Long Island, New York and attended Stony Brook University, and after graduation, The City College in New York City. He earned a BA in English and an MA in Museum Studies during this time, and later interned and worked in some of New York's most prestigious museums and art galleries, including the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages; The Museum of Television and Radio; The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; The New Museum of Contemporary Art, and finally, as Registrar at Hollis Taggart Galleries. Jason was truly inspired by the staff at Hollis Taggart Galleries, and he had great admiration for all his supervisors and coworkers. Jason met the love of his life, Letty, while working at the Museum of Television and Radio. They were married on November 5th, 2006. Jason will be greatly missed. He was an amazing husband, father, son, brother, and friend. He was truly one of a kind. He accomplished so much in his lifetime, and so many of his dreams came true. He will always be remembered in our hearts.
He is survived by his wife, Letty Holton and son Matthew Garland of New York City; parents, Dan and Shelley Holton of Pegram, Tennessee; sister, Amanda Holton of Pegram, Tennessee; brother, Richard Keith Holton of Miami, Florida; grandmothers Eileen Meroney of Waco, Texas, and Noveta Holton of Holly Lake, Texas; and numerous loving cousins, aunts and uncles. The family would like to thank The Mount Sinai Medical Center, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for their kind, gracious and dedicated care, and for all of their help with Jason's fight against cancer.
Funeral services will be on Saturday August 8, 2009 at 2:30 pm at Harpeth Hills Funeral Home. Interment will follow in the Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens. Visitation will be on Friday from 4-8 pm. Memorials can be made to the Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens, 9090 Highway 100, Nashville, Tennessee 37221 615-646-9292; and donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Special Fund for American Art at Hollis Taggart Galleries, 958 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10021, or to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center research toward a cure for Germ Cell Cancers and Leukemia, 1275 York Ave. New York, N.Y. 10065