James Bernerd Holdridge Sr., known to his friends and family as Jim, passed away peacefully Thursday, March 19, 2026. Born in Baltimore, Md., in 1954, he attended John Carroll High School.

In high school, he was a three-sport athlete, excelling at football, wrestling and lacrosse. In 2014, he was inducted into the John Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame. He attended Towson University, where he played football and wrestled. During the 1976 season, Jim was a captain of the Towson Tigers football team that made it to the Division III National Championship game, the Stag Bowl. In 2004, his entire 1974 football team was inducted into the Towson Hall of Fame for their perfect season, not repeated in 30 years.

It was at Towson that Jim met not only his wife of 49 years, Connie, but also his closest and dearest friends. The friends that he made playing football at Towson became his family as well. For more than 50 years, he was the lynchpin holding the group together.

After college, Jim went into sales in the computer industry. He excelled in his field, receiving numerous awards and accolades. His enthusiasm for sports never left him. He enjoyed watching all sports. He loved playing racquetball, softball and golf. He moved to Rehoboth with his wife to raise their three boys. After the boys moved out and got married, Jim and Connie moved to Bay Crossing in Lewes. He fell in love with the community. The pool was his favorite place to relax. Nothing meant more to Jim than his family.

He is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Connie; his six children, James Holdridge Jr., Amanda Holdridge, Christopher Holdridge, Megan Holdridge, Michael Holdridge and Vic Holdridge; and his three grandchildren, Caitlin Holdridge, CJ Holdridge and Alex Holdridge. He worked tirelessly for charitable causes, most notably Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition and the Towson Athletic Fund.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his honor to Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition, debreastcancer.org, in recognition of his love and support for the DBCC.
 
A celebration of life will take place later in Towson, Md.

Visit Jim’s Life Memorial webpage and sign his online guestbook at parsellfuneralhomes.com.