Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman and their Descendants

by Glenn N. Holliman

Jerry Holliman, a Remembrance

 Jerry in 1954, at school in Gadsden, Alabama, age 14.


My first cousin, Jerry, died in 2003 at age 62 of a heart attack while on a fishing trip in Alaska. He is the first of the nineteen first cousins of the seven children of Ulyss and Pearl Holliman to pass away. Perhaps Jerry, although too young to leave his family, died in circumstances he might have chosen - fishing in his beloved Alaska. One of the great pleasures of his father, Euhal, was joining the twin sons, Jerry and Terry, searching for salmon in Alaskan rivers.

Jerry was six years older than me, and the last time I saw him was around 1960. Bob Daly and I were teamed up against the twin brothers playing tackle football on the Daly lawn in Irondale. As a kid, it was always a thrill to be included in games with my older male cousins. While in the Army at Ft. Bragg, NC, Jerry briefly visited our home in Florence, South Carolina.

Another memory I have is of the two brothers, probably in the mid-1950s, having a brotherly tussle in the dark parking and storage area under Grandmother Holliman's house in Irondale. It was spooky and dank under the house, and I always was afraid to explore it. So I watched from the outside as the two boys engaged in fist-a-cuffs. I think their father broke up the fight.

Brothers always have brotherly quarrels, especially so twin brothers seeking their own identity. Perhaps that is what attracted Alaska to them, the 49th new state with opportunities and a chance to build a life. Our branch of the Holliman family had lived in the south since 1650, and in the early 1960s both brothers migrated to the Great Northwest. Their immigration personifies the Holliman diaspora of our generation. Terry had been stationed in the state during the service, and he must have told Jerry of the attractiveness of the Alaskan outdoors.

The above photo of Euhal, Bishop and Jerry Holliman was taken in 1985 on the porch of the old Holliman home in Irondale.


This thoughtful memorial to Jerry was published by Alaskan Airlines in July, 2003 in Anchorage.


"Jerry, 62, died July 16 of a heart attack while on a fishing vacation in Kenai with his wife, Dona Holliman, also an Alaska Airlines employee.  'We feel this emptiness in our hearts with the sudden loss of a friend like Jerry,' said Davis Burris, Anchorage CSM.  'He touched the lives of everyone he came into contact with everyday, and that was almost everyone in the Anchorage station.'


In 1995, Jerry received the highest honor that an Alaska employee can receive: Customer Service Legend.  As native of Alabama, Jerry moved to Anchorage and began his career with the airline in 1964.  He was the station's top seniority ramp service agent.  In addition to his wife, a 39 year lead CSA - air freight agent, Jerry is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Renee Holliman and Kevin McKinney, two grand daughters and several siblings, including an identical twin brother, Terry."


No doubt Euhal and Edna, both hard-working individuals, would have been proud to read how others felt about Jerry.  I know his cousins are.


Next, the Fourth Child of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman....

Note: The information and opinions expressed in these family biographies are those of the writer alone. Comments, corrections and additions are most welcome. The purpose of these articles is to capture a period and family in American history and to pass this legacy along to future generations who share the common bond of family .My thanks to Tommie Holliman Allen for the information..