Howard William Gholson, Sr., of Triangle, Virginia, was born in Lawrenceville, VA on August 27, 1938, to the late William Howard Gholson and Maude Briggs Gholson Skeeter. He passed away on March 13, 2025, at Fairfax INOVA Hospital. Howard is also predeceased by two brothers—Richard who died tragically when
he was a freshman in high school; his brother John Walter who died as an infant, his uncle John Briggs, and his stepfather Johnson Skeeter. Two other family favorites in his life who predeceased him are his two aunts—Carrie Briggs Davis and Ellen Briggs Welch of Brooklyn, New York. They both mentored him and helped support him throughout his young life. He never forgot their dedication and love for him.
Howard was baptized at First Baptist Church in Lawrenceville and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior at a young age. Living in a college town (Saint Paul’s College), he was able to meet so many professional people that he admired and emulated. He was always competitive in earning high grades even in elementary school and graduated as valedictorian from Saint Paul’s Practice School and went on to graduate with academic honors from James Solomon Russell High School of Lawrenceville in 1957. At a young age, he joined the Boy Scouts of America and was a loyal and dedicated member for many years. Among the many values he learned as a scout was the value of hard work which he began to use while working as a ‘shoeshine boy’ at a local barber shop and as a ‘paper boy’delivering newspapers door-to-door to subscribers on his bicycle accompanied by his dog. While in high school, he was very active in school activities and clubs, but his favorite was being a member of the JSRHS marching band where his role model, Zedekiah Holmes, was the teacher/leader. Howard loved playing the
clarinet during school programs and most of all when the band marched down the streets of Lawrenceville during homecoming parades. He would often say, “We were so good that the streets were lined with people to see us perform and even hanging out of windows of the stores when we marched down the streets”.
Howard entered Saint Paul’s College as a freshman in 1957 and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education with a concentration in science. Through the National Science Foundation program, he did further studies at Howard University and other universities as registered with the NSF. He earned his first Master of Science degree from Virginia State College (University) in Petersburg (late 1960s) and earned the Master of Public Administration degree (1975) as well as the Doctor of Public Administration degree (1976) from NOVA Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
After his college graduation in 1961, Howard accepted a position as a science teacher at his high school alma mater, James Solomon Russell High School, and taught there for three years before relocating to Prince William County, Virginia, in 1964. He was hired to teach science and mathematics at Jennie Dean School in Manassas, Virginia from 1964 to 1966. Jennie Dean was formerly a public combination boarding school for Black students not only from Prince William County but also from surrounding counties such as Fairfax, Loudoun, etc. Later it
became the school for Black students in Prince William County for first grade through high school. When the county integrated in 1966, Howard was transferred to the previously all-White Gar- Field High School in Woodbridge, Virginia, as a science teacher. He was later promoted to the position of Assistant Principal at Gar-Field and became the first Black to be promoted to an administrative position in Prince William County after integration for which he received an award from the PWC Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
In 1972 Howard’s goal of working in the area of education on an international level came true. He left Prince William County school system and accepted a senior-level position with the United States Department of
Education in Washington, D.C. where he once served in positions including Branch Chief in the Indian Education Programs. Later he also served as the Director of the United States Marine Corps Instructional Management School. After serving as a professor and conference group leader at the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College, he was appointed as the first Dean of Academics at the newly established Marine Corps University, College of Continuing Education (CCE). In these positions not only did he represent the U.S. within the states, but he also experienced worldwide assignments to Hawaii, Japan, Geneva, Switzerland; Paris, France; Germany, Great Britain, and other locations. He represented the United States twice at the International Labor
Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland, where he presented position papers before the ILO. He counted these experiences on the international level as his most memorable, because he was able to connect with people from all over the world and to see and understand educational networking among the different nations and cultures. He was awarded the U.S. of America Department of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award.
After he retired from the Federal government in 2000, he returned to the Prince William County Public School system as a high school biology teacher for the next nine years simply because he wanted to be a mentor to students and to share his varied educational experiences. His other professional experiences included being
an adjunct Public Administration Professor at Southeastern University and Pepperdine University. On the local community level, Howard was a co-founder of a small informal non-political group called The Equal Rights Association that worked diligently and professionally to get more Black educators hired in the Prince William County school system. This group developed recruitment strategies and was successful in helping to fill many positions with teachers and administrators. Howard learned the workings of politics in his unsuccessful bid for
the Prince William County School Board in the late 1990s.
Howard was a panelist for the Prince William County Government where a video was produced commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. His memberships have included being a charter and active ember of Xi Alpha Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated; the Board of Directors of the Virginia Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union; the Fellowship Club of Northern Virginia; the Quantico Lions Club; the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE); and a member of the Board of Trustees for Saint Paul’s College. He also served as a Trustee at First Mount Baptist Church in Dumfries, Virginia, for many years and was honored with the distinguish status of Trustee Emeritus. During his tenure as a Trustee, a multimillion-dollar facility was built to accommodate the growing population of worshippers in Prince William County and surrounding areas.
Howard enjoyed attending the CIAA tournaments yearly; being in Kentucky for the Derby; annual cruises to different ports with family and friends; annual attendance at the galas of his fraternity; being present for the 7 a.m. Sunday School followed by the 8 a.m. service at church and also meetings with the Trustee Ministry; traveling to different areas of the world; being present at HBCU homecomings; visits with family members— north, south, east, and west; monthly meetings and yearly outings to the beach with friends; accompanying
Glorine to her nationwide conferences and assembly meetings; and just socializing and meeting new people. He enjoyed watching all sports, but his favorite sport to watch was boxing. Howard was a role model and mentor to so many young people. With the tragic loss of his two brothers, however, he believed that the life he lived was a miracle.
He did not favor yard work much beyond cutting the grass and stayed away from cooking and kitchen work as much as was possible but enjoyed a homecooked meal of his favorites.
If you were to ask Howard what is the one thing that made him the happiest outside of his family, friends, and his worship experiences, etc., he would probably say ‘seeing and talking with his students from the past— many of whom he motivated to attend college. He has kept in touch with many of them to this day, and he was at his proudest to be just socializing and reminiscing with them all. Nothing stopped him from attending all the class reunions and gatherings to which he had been invited. Sadly, he has also attended many funerals of some of his former students.
Howard is survived by his high school sweetheart, Glorine Williams Gholson, his wife of almost 63 years; daughter Debbie Gholson Wright and son Howard William Gholson, Jr. (Jay); two grandsons Wesley and Isaiah (Zay) Wright(Kirsten) and his six-month old great granddaughter, Eden Wright; along with the extended families of Briggs, Gholson, and Kelly relatives; the Skeeter family, inlaw families, and friends. A viewing will be held at First Mt. Zion Baptist Church,16622 Dumfries Road, Dumfries, VA 22025, on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at 10:00 AM followed by a homegoing service at 11:00 AM. The interment will be held at Oak Grove Cemetery, 22355 Christanna Hwy, Lawrenceville, VA 23868, on Thursday, March27, 2025, at 11:00 AM. Services entrusted to A.L. Bennett and Son Funeral Home, in Fredericksburg, VA.