Cookie Holliday passed away Monday, August 13, 2018, at the age of 97. She was born December 28, 1920, in Winder, GA, the daughter of Clifford Cook and Gertrude Ross. A country girl determined to become a city nurse, she graduated first in her class from nursing school at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, then enlisted in the U.S. Army Nursing Corps. While at Lakeland, FL, awaiting orders, she met Walter Holliday, son of a Beaumont carpenter, now a dashing pilot with the new Army Air Corps, about to be shipped to the Burma, China, India theater. Cookie was deployed to Europe, serving as operating room nurse in the French and German war zones during World War II, rising to the rank of Captain.
After the war, she reconnected with Walt, married, and moved to Beaumont, where he became a successful local builder. They had three sons, raising them in the family traditions of Southern hospitality, Baptist benevolence, and strong family bonds. Cookie rose to Recovery Room nurse supervisor at St. Elizabeth Hospital, where she ministered to the sick "with the touch of an angel". She enjoyed her friends in The Sewing Club and many camping excursions with The Fun Travelers Club. She was a gifted practitioner of the domestic arts and a lover of natural beauty.
A longtime, faithful member of Highland Baptist Church in South Park and later Woodland Baptist, she leaves a legacy of unrelenting faith in a God who loves and forgives, and who guides a life of service to others. She was gifted with righteousness and moral certitude, which she gladly shared with others. Cookie's life in many ways epitomizes the Greatest Generation, which despite humble beginnings worked hard, stayed focused, and attained the American Dream. She greeted the world with a huge smile until the very end.
Cookie was proceeded in death by her dear Walt, and sons John and Lee. She is survived by her son, Paul, his wife Paula, and their children Ryan Holliday of Galveston, and his wife Erica Sears Holliday PhD; SFC Hunter Holliday (Army) of Fayetteville, NC, and his wife Phoebe, and their sons Lucas and Paul; Jason Holliday MD of Houston, and his husband Enrique Armijo PhD; Madison Holliday of Austin and her husband Nathan Simmons, and their daughter Selah; and PO2 Michael Holliday (Navy) of New London, CT, and his wife Ashley, and their children Jaynen and Michael Jr.• She is also survived by John's wife, Louann Holliday and their children Stephanie Park and her husband, Casey Park; and Alex Holliday MD of Roanoke, VA.
Funeral services are under the direction of Claybar Funeral Home, 1155 N. Eleventh St., Beaumont. Visitation is 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, 2018, at the funeral home. Graveside services will beat Forest Lawn Cemetery, Beaumont, at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018. Pallbearers are Alex Holliday, Stephanie Park, Jason Holliday, Michael Holliday, Madison Holliday, and Ryan Holliday.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to Woodland Baptist Church, 1860 W. Lucas, Beaumont, TX, 77706.
The family would like to thank the ladies of Woodland Baptist Church, who visited regularly, and the staff at VA Hospital, who provided efficient, professional, yet loving care in her final days.