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A time to plant...
Edward Holiday, Jr. was born on December 2, 1940, in Rembert, South Carolina to the late Edward Holiday and Hattie D. Holiday.
A time to live and embrace…
Edward was raised in a Christian home in Lee County, South Carolina, with his parents and eight siblings. As the oldest son, he was only able to obtain a primary education because he started working at a young age, picking cotton to help take care of his family. Around 16 years old, he moved to Florida to improve his way of life. He eventually started his own construction company, M&D Construction. He worked as a concrete finisher for almost 50 years and laid the foundations of thousands of homes across Central Florida, while teaching many family members the art of construction. When Edward retired in 2017, he was the head of maintenance at The Family Shelter in Columbia, South Carolina.
A time to love and enjoy life…
In Florida, he met Martha Ann Graham, and together they had one son, Robert. In 1964, Edward married Patricia Redding, producing one son, Kevin. In 1976, he met Debra SeCheverell who had one daughter, Janine Gonzalez. Together, they had Jennifer Holiday, blending a family of two sons and two daughters. Edward was an avid lover of NASCAR, western films, horse racing, fishing, and all sports. He also reveled in the simple joys of life, whether it was scratching off lottery tickets, solving word searches, or embracing his inner child with drones and remote-control cars. His youthful exuberance and zest for life were truly contagious. In the last six years of his life, his world was centered around his three granddaughters. He taught them how to fish and ride bikes and shared with them his love for building and fixing things.
A time to depart…
Sadly, Edward fought a courageous battle with multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer) after recently being diagnosed on February 26, 2024. He was given his angel wings on April 23, 2024, at the Jewish Home Family in Rockleigh, New Jersey. He was preceded in death by his better half of 39 years, Debra SeCheverell Holiday; his brother, Tommie Lee Holiday, and sisters, Christine Holiday (born deceased), Louise English, Dorothy Cunningham, and Lessie Byrd.
A host of loved ones will forever cherish Edward’s memory: daughter, Jennifer Holiday Hudson; son-in-love, Vince Hudson; granddaughters, Olivia, Ava, and Vanna (New Jersey); sons, Robert Graham (Florida) and grandchildren, Stephen, Evan, and Jessica and Donald Kevin Holiday (Tennessee) and grandsons, Donald, Jr. and Donovan; bonus daughter, Janine Gonzalez (Jimmy) and grandson Justin(Pennsylvania); sisters, Earnestine (Kim) Thomas (New York) and Gladys Allen(South Carolina); brothers, Robert Holiday and Hanzel Holiday (South Carolina); nine great grandchildren, a very special niece and nephew, Lynn Thomas and Brian Allen, and many loving nieces, nephews, extended family, in-laws, neighbors, and friends.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Edward Holiday. Jr., please visit our floral store.