Berlin Hollingsworth

The “time” as revealed by the wisdom of Solomon, was realized on Monday, October 24,2016, when, according to the will of our Father, Berlin Nathaniel Hollingsworth was released from all earthly cares and was granted eternal peace. Berlin was born and reared in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the fourth of ten children of the late Thomas and Lena Mae Pierce Hollingsworth. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Delaware State College, Dover, Delaware in 1967; his Master of Science in Education from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Illinois in 1975 and his Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling Education from Pacific Western University, Los Angeles, California in 2001. Dr. Hollingsworth complete all work, except the dissertation, toward a doctoral degree at Temple University, Philadelphia Pennsylvania and did additional graduate studies at La Verne University, La Verne, California, Chapman College, Orange, California, and Salisbury State College, Salisbury, Maryland. Dr. Hollingsworth retired as a visiting teacher from the Caesar Rodney School District. He also worked as the first manager of the Martin Luther King Student Center at Delaware State College. While working at Caesar Rodney, Berlin worked more than ten years during the summers as a principal/coordinator for European and American study tours and traveled extensively in Europe. He and his wife conducted Parent Effectiveness and Teacher Effectiveness Training workshops and they conducted Study Sessions and workshops in Parliamentary Procedure. Before working in the education field, Dr. Hollingsworth owned and operated a gas station-convenience store, was the first Black salesmen for General Tire and Rubber Company of Delaware, was a cookware salesman, and worked as a chef cook in various restaurants and hotels in Washington, D.C. Delaware and New Jersey. He and his wife were co-owners of Hollingsworth and Hollingsworth Consultant Services. Dr. Hollingsworth, a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., was very active on the local, provincial and national levels including serving as past polemarch of the Dover Alumni Chapter. He served as president of the Northwest Dover Height Civic Association for more than thirty-five years. Dr. Hollingsworth was 32nd Degree Mason, the past president of the Delaware State Visiting Teachers Association, past president of the Capitol Esquires, Ltd., a life member of Delaware State University Alumni Association, In., a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and chaired the Membership Committee for the Milford-Slaughter Neck Branch, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was a member of the National Association of Parliamentarians and a member of the American Institute of Parliamentarians and, served as a vice president of Delaware State Association of Parliamentarians. For the last sixty years, he had been a member of Whatcoat United Methodist Church, where he chaired the Stewardship Committee from 1997 to 2009. He served as chair of the Trustee Board, president of the Men’s Day Committee, and a member of the Building Committee. Dr. Hollingsworth was a nationally centerfield counselor, who participated in standardizing the National Counselor Certification Test. Dr. Hollingsworth was the recipient of a number of awards, including the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Achievement Award for the Northeastern Province, Kappa Man of the Year, Outstanding Kappa Award, and Outstanding Capital Esquire Award. For his outstanding achievement, he was recognized by the Afro-American Historical Society of Kent County Chapter of Delaware State University Alumni Association for his contributions the citizens of Delaware, and by St. Paul United Methodist Church, Milford, Delaware as an Outstanding Citizen. In March 2011, Dr. Hollingsworth was voted ‘Whatcoat Church Man-of-the-Year.” Dr. Hollingsworth and his wife traveled extensively in all fifty states. Their travels also extended to Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas and the West Indies, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Ghana,, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Morocco and Gibraltar. Berlin N. Hollingsworth, Ph.D. was predeceased by his parents, his brothers, Petigrew, Junius, and Thomas; his sisters, Katherine Jackson, Irene Hollingsworth, Lila Mae Matthews, and Frances McNeill. Those who are left to cherish his precious memory are his lovely wife of 69 years, Dr. Reba Ross Hollingsworth, daughter, Vivian O. Dancy, grandson, William J. Johnson, who is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and wife, Ari, two great-grandsons, Jeremiah J. Johnson and Jayce A. Johnson, brother-in-law, Eugene Ross, two sisters-in-law, Celia Jackson and Josie Hollingsworth, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, fraternity brothers and friends. 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Berlin Hollingsworth

September 21, 1920 - October 24, 2016