Diana Lynn Holt, also known as Diana Morris Holt, 65, of Columbia, SC (formerly of Houston, Texas), passed away on December 18, 2023, from complications related to cancer.

Ms. Holt was born June 10, 1958, in El Paso, Texas, and was raised in Houston, Texas. After moving to Columbia in 1993, she married her husband who survives her, Kevin K. Bell, on May 31, 1997. She earned her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, after which she had an accomplished 30-year career representing indigent death-sentenced inmates. Her career was recognized by the legal profession both nationally and in South Carolina, and her work and her cases were the subject of numerous national media accounts. Her skills as an attorney were matched only by her humanity, her empathy, and her loyalty to her clients.

Ms. Holt was devoted to her family, especially her three sons—Jeffrey Alexander Holt (1981-2020), Justin James Holt, and Christopher Gordon Holt. In addition to her husband and two sons, she is survived by her birth mother, Carroll Coffman; her sister, Stacey Blackmon; her brothers, Vince Morris, Clint Morris, James Morris, and Scotty Morris; her second mother, Melba Hewitt; her former spouse, Gordon Holt; her grandchildren, Hailea Holt, Julie Holt, and Ayden Clark, as well as her nephews, nieces, and cousins too numerous to count.

A celebration of Ms. Holt's life will be scheduled at a later time. Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family.

Memorial contributions on behalf of Ms. Holt may be made to the charity of the donor's choice.