Holladay, Samuel Sledge
1/1/1982
1895-1982 |
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| Brother Sam Holladay was born in Pelican, Louisiana September 5, 1895 to a pioneer Methodist preacher and his wife, Reverend and Mrs. Samuel Scott Holladay. To better his education he lived as a teenager with a sister and her husband, Reverend and Mrs. Homer Bowman. He answered the call to military service in World War I and served in three branches of his country’s armed forces: Army, Navy and Marines. After discharge Brother Holladay attended Lake Charles Business College and then entered the banking business in Shreveport. Converted during a tent revival conducted by the evangelist Billy Sunday, the experience led Brother Sam to accept the call to ministry in 1927. He attended Centenary and Millsaps colleges. Appointments during 41 years in the pastorate include: Standard-Olla, Jonesville, Marion-Downsville, Sterlington, Gordon Avenue, Delhi-Crowville, Gilbert-Fort Necessity, Coushatta, Logansport, Columbia, Oakdale, Colfax, Belcher-Gilliam, Moss Bluff and Marksville-Oak Grove. Brother Sam was married to Elizabeth Donald who preceded him in death and to this union was born a daughter, Marguerite Elizabeth. In 1926 he married Bessie Lee Jacobs and to this union of more than 55 years came four sons: Dr. Samuel S. Holladay, Robert Benjamin, John Richmond and Miles Thomas. Counted also are 15 grandchildren, 3 step-grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren After retirement in 1968, Brother and Mrs. Holladay lived in Springhill where they shared their Christian faith and love with their many friends and continued to be a blessing to all. A letter to Bess from a nephew expressed gratitude for Sam’s long and fruitful life. It reminds us of the outdoor life he so much enjoyed. Often he said, “To the wilderness I am born.” The nephew wrote he could get riled up when his hook snagged, but he was the fun type with a great sense of humor! Of special meaning to Bess are these lines from Tennyson’s “Crossing The Bar.” “Sunset and evening star, and one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea, For though from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar.” |
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| Source: Journal Louisiana Conference, 1982; p. 158 By Beverly E. Bond | |
