Earlene Holliday

Earlene Holliday, 90, of John Day passed away April 25th at St. Charles Hospital in Bend, Oregon. A funeral service was held April 30, 2016, at the First Baptist Church in John Day, an interment followed to the Canyon City Cemetery. A reception followed at the John Day Senior Citizens Center.

Earlene was born February 1, 1926 to Earl and Minnie Walker in Booneville, Arkansas. She was the 2nd child of five, including Hensel, Dub, Ella Mae, and Gene. Earlene’s early years were spent in Sugar Grove, Arkansas. Her mother, Minnie, married Warren Hooper, and two sisters were born into the family, Charity and Ophie.

Earlene attended elementary school in Magazine, Arkansas, where she was a spelling whiz and loved to read the little fat books, although she never was able to own one herself. She worked hard even as a child, picking cotton. She was the defender and caregiver of her siblings. She often said she could climb a tree with Gene on her hip.

In July of 1940 at 15 years old, Earlene got on a train and traveled to Holbrook, Arizona. This was her first trip out of Logan County, Arkansas. Her dad, Earl, a sawyer for the Nick Holliday Logging Company, had asked her to come to Arizona to keep house for him. Upon her arrival at the logging camp, Earl told Earlene she was “not to go around the boss’s son.”Later she would say it did not appear anyone told the boss’s son, Clyde, to stay away from her!

Clyde and Earlene were married January 13, 1942 in Gallup, New Mexico. Earlene was 16 and Clyde was 17.

Earlene and Clyde spent their early marriage living in the Holliday family’s logging camps in Aripine, Arizona and Cloud Croft, New Mexico. 

Their first child, Carlene, was born in January of 1943. In 1944, Clyde was drafted into the US Navy. When Clyde was in the Navy, Earlene lived with the Holliday family in Snowflake, Arizona. She eventually moved to San Diego to be closer to Clyde.

After Clyde’s service in the Navy they returned to Show Low, Arizona, to work in his family’s logging business. Their 2nd daughter, Sharon, was born in 1946. In 1947 Earlene and Clyde decided to move to Grant County, Oregon where the logging prospects were good. They traveled to Grant County in a caravan with twelve families and 6 single men. Earlene always told stories of the trip, of sleeping on mattresses on the ground and cooking their meals on an open fire. The trip was a great adventure to her. They arrived in Fox Valley on July 7, 1947, Earlene was 22 years old, a mother to two young daughters and pregnant with her third child. Earlene and Clyde lived in Fox Valley through the summer and fall of 1947. With winter approaching, Clyde purchased a piece of property outside of Mt. Vernon for the families who worked for him to live. His father, Nick, began building simple 1 and 2-room houses on the site. Earlene and Clyde moved into one of the houses and in December their first son, Ron, was born. In 1962, Earlene and Clyde donated that site to the Oregon Department of State Parks, for the Clyde Holliday State Park. It has been a very popular destination and has provided a wonderful picnic and camping spot for thousands of people.

As a young mother with three children, Earlene’s days were full of taking care of Clyde and her young family. Clyde never left the house without a lunch Earlene had prepared. Although she loved to visit and spend time with the wives of the men who worked for Clyde, her first love was fishing. Throughout her life she would enjoy the times she was able to sneak out and fish. She and Clyde joined the First Baptist Church in John Day where she taught Sunday School for many years. 

Earlene’s family continued to grow. Darrell was born in 1954 and Kenny in 1956.

In 1957, Earlene and Clyde were on a motorcycle returning home from a church picnic when they were hit by a drunk driver east of John Day. They both suffered extensive injuries. Both of Earlene’s legs were broken and she had severe head injuries. Her doctors did not expect her to ever be able to use her right leg. However, Earlene’s strong will and love for her young family gave her the strength to overcome her injuries.

Earlene’s life took a major change when she and Clyde purchased the former Herman Oliver Ranch and moved their family to the ranch east of John Day. She would tell the story that prior to moving to the ranch she always wore dresses, never pants, and had some time of her own. However, on the ranch Clyde would come to the door and yell, “Earlene, I need you to help me, now.”This would send her running back to her bedroom to swap her dress for a pair of pants. In her new life, pants became the uniform, as was always being on call to help Clyde.

Earlene’s days on the ranch were full of taking care of her 5 children, working in the fields, helping move cows on her horse, Prince, as well as cooking three meals a day for the ranch workers who lived in the bunkhouse. Meals were served at 6, 12, and 6, seven days a week. The meals Earlene cooked became a highlight not only for the many young men who worked for them, but also for her family. It was said sometimes you might not even be hungry until you walked in the door and smelled the delicious aroma from her kitchen, then you were starving! 

Earlene was always ready to do anything she could to help her friends and family. Carlene remembers how her mom raised her children with a gentle hand and how she gave her the strength to care for Troy, her disabled son. Earlene very seldom asked for anything, preferring to find ways to do things for other people. She was not a complainer and always saw the good in everyone. Earlene had the ability to make everyone who walked into her house feel welcome.

Earlene aged very gracefully, looking much younger than her age. She loved to play cards, especially Hand & Foot. She was an expert crocheter. Her family will cherish the beautiful things she made for them.

Earlene had many wonderful qualities, and the one that stands out most to her family was her unconditional love for each of them. Her love was not the starry-eyed, feel-good temporary kind of love, but the stick-with-you-to-the-end, love-you-no-matter-what-your-faults-are kind of love. She also had an unbelievable ability to forgive. She is leaving a legacy of unconditional love and forgiveness with us.

Earlene also loved God with all her heart and in the final hours of her life, surrounded by her children, she was singing the hymn, When We All Get To Heaven. She recited Psalm 23 and spoke of looking forward to seeing heaven. 

Earlene was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, Clyde, granddaughter, Tricia, and grandson, Billy Clyde. She leaves behind a family that loves her very much, including her five children and their spouses: Carlene and Guido Damer, Sharon and Gordon Mitchell, Ron Holliday and Ilene Robert, Darrell and Kathie Holliday, Ken and Pat Holliday, 19 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the Blue Mt. Hospital Hospice Program through Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241  S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, Or  97845.

(Paid obituary)