Alonzo William Holman was born October 9, 1934 in Lincolnville, (Charleston County) South Carolina. His parents were the late Alonzo Franklin and Lillie Ross Holman.

Reverend Holman was a product of Burke High School, Charleston, South Carolina, Allen University and Dickerson Theological Seminary, Columbia, South Carolina. His alma mater, Allen University, honored him with a Doctor of Divinity Degree in 1975. In 1976, Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida conferred upon him his second Doctor of Divinity Degree. Monrovia College, Liberia, West Africa bestowed his third Doctor of Divinity Degree in 1988.

Holman's early Christian experiences began at Ebenezer AME Church in Lincolnville, where he served as Sunday School Secretary. In 1951 he was licensed to preach at the age of sixteen and in 1953 he was ordained both an Itinerant Deacon and Elder by the late Bishop Frank Madison Reid, Sr.; and thus began his outstanding pastoral commitment.

Reverend Holman served the Waterloo Circuit in Laurens County, South Carolina, Graniteville Circuit in Graniteville, South Carolina, Cumberland Station for ten years with dedication, Bethel AME Church in Georgetown, South Carolina for ten years with distinction, and "Mother Emanuel" AME Church, Charleston, South Carolina for ten years where he rendered meritorious service. His experience in church related housing sponsorships has been varied. He served as chairman of the board of Bethel Apartments Inc., Georgetown, South Carolina from 1969 to 1978; vice chairman of Emanuel-Morris Brown-Ebenezer (EME) Apartments, Inc., Charleston, South Carolina from 1978 to 1988.

It was while serving as pastor of "Mother Emanuel", that he was elected and elevated to a general officer in the AME Church in July, 1988. He served as director of salary supplement of the AME Church, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.

The salary supplement department adhered to the mandate of the church in providing seven connectional stewardship and tithing conferences. The conferences were led by the bishops of the church, nine general officers, presiding elders, pastors and laity. The following bishops chaired the commomission; Bishops Henry Allen Belin Jr., Frederick H. Talbot, and Robert Thomas Jr. The department pooled its resource persons, compiled, and published several manuals, tracts, and packets of materials to help in the developmentt of a meaningful stewardship program in the local church. The following persons were coordinators of the conferences: Reverends James G. Blake, John F. White, and Gregory G. Ingram. The department utilized the talents and teaching skills of members of the connection in all presentations. The commission members, task force and Memphis community availed themselves for services. After twelve years of service Reverend Holman retired in 2000. He served in the active ministry for fifty years and answered the roll call fifty-four times.

Reverend Holman served as secretary of the board of trustees of Allen University, a member of the general board of the AME Church, secretary of the Commission on Statistics and Finance, also secretary of the subcommittee on budget. He was a member of the board of directors of Reid House of Christian Service, Charleston, South Carolina. He served as an officer of the Episcopal Committee for four quadrenniums. He had been a member of every general conference since 1964. He was past president of the Pastors Council of the Seventh Episcopal District and General Officers' Council of the AME Church. He was a member of the AME Alliance of Charleston and Vicinity. He represented the AME Church on the Commission on Faith and Order of the National Council of Churches, USA. He served as a member of the Commission on Stewardship of the National Council of Churches, USA.

He was a member of the board of directors of the Ecumenical Center for Stewardship Studies, there he served on the executive committee, forums of Theological Studies and the planning committee on the North American Conference on Christian Philanthropy. The ECSS represents twenty-nine denominations in the United States and Canada. He served five years on the board of directors of the World Methodist Council.

Reverend Holman dedicated much of his time to civic activities. He served four separate terms as chairman of the board of the South Carolina Department of Youth Services, where he served with distinction for nineteen years. He was past state president of the NAACP, served seven years on the national board of directors of the NAACP. He served as chairman of two of the standing committees: Advance Drafting and Time and Place Committees.

He participated in three White House Conferences and consultant to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and served on the United States Selective Appeals Board, Committee on Hunger and Malnutrition in South Carolina. He was a delegate to the 1968 National Democratic Convention serving as co-vice chairman of the South Carolina delegation. Govenor Carroll Campbell appointed him to an at-large seat on the South Carolina and Drug Abuse Board. He resigned when elected a general offficer of the AME Church.

Reverend Holman is listed in Who's Who in American Politics, Who's Who Among Black Clergymen. A member of Effingham Lodge #98 of Prince Hall Free and Accepted Masons. Governor Richard Riley awarded him the Order of the Palmetto. The South Carolina Youth Workers Association for 1987 presented him with the Distinquished Service Award. He was an Honorary Kentucky Colonel and a Honorary Tennessee Colonel. Upon leaving the city of Charleston, its council declared August 26, 1988 as "The Reverend Alonzo W. Homan Day". His many awards are too numerous to list.

Reverend Holman married the former Miss Gerald Eloise Smith, November 26, 1959 of Anderson, South Carolina. She served with him in the AME Church for forty-three years. We reflect the gratitude upon the long and fruitful life of this couple of God. "To God be the Glory!". Reverend Holman's ministry and leadership ended with his death on Wednesday, November 10, 2004.

The family kneels in humble submission to a gracious Heavenly Father who allowed us to share Alonzo W. Holman for these seventy years.