Senator Jimmy W. Holley

Published 4:01 pm Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Stars fell on Alabama this past Monday evening when Senator Jimmy W. Holley passed on from this life and went to be with the Lord at the age of 80. A lifelong resident of Coffee County, Senator Holley served his home state and his local communities as a legislator for a remarkable 44 years.

Senator Jimmy W. Holley

Jimmy was born on July 30, 1944, to John Edmon Holley, Jr., and Verbie Davis Holley. Senator Holley was preceded in death by his parents as well as his brother, Johnny Holley. He is survived by his wife, Mary Harmon Holley of Elba; their son, John Holley and daughter-in-law Nicole of Elba; their son, Jason Holley, daughter-in-law Julie, and grandsons Dylan and Cooper of Elba; his sister, JoAnn Holley Driggers of Elba; his sister, Janice Holley Strickland of Elba; and his brother, Joey Holley and sister-in-law Beth of Troy.

He spent his early years at Damascus School in rural Coffee County and graduated from Elba High School in 1962. He attended Troy State College and later transferred to East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, where he earned his baccalaureate degree in Political Science in 1967 and his Master of School Administration in 1973. While in college, Jimmy met the love of his life, Mary Harmon. The two were married at Greeneville Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Greeneville, Tennessee, on Dec. 27, 1967. Their marriage spanned nearly 57 years.

Beginning his long and varied career path as a school teacher and coach, Jimmy later became a high-school principal, an owner of Elba Ford Tractor Company, and a bank manager. During this time, he also served his country as a member of the Alabama National Guard. He served Troy University as an administrator from 1984 until 2007, retiring as Director of the Regional Inservice Center and Assistant to the Vice Chancellor, as well as prior service as Director of the Center for Developmental Education.

Jimmy entered the political arena by running for the Alabama House of Representatives in 1970 at the age of 24. All funds for that campaign came from cutting timber on his farm. Although he lost that first race, he was not deterred from running again four years later and he was elected to the Alabama House. Subsequently, he was elected to four more terms as a State Representative. In 1994, Jimmy and Mary decided that he would retire from politics; however, with Mary’s blessing, in 1998 he ran for the Alabama Senate and won as a Democrat. In 2003, Senator Holley decided to change political parties and was elected to serve six consecutive terms as a Republican State Senator. At the conclusion of the 2019-2022 quadrennium of the Legislature of Alabama, Senator Jimmy W. Holley ended 44 years as a State Legislator, one of the longest state-legislative tenures in the nation. Senator Holley spent more than half his life serving the citizens of Alabama and his District as their legislator. During his years in the House of Representatives and the Senate, Jimmy W. Holley sponsored and passed 25 local bills, 22 House bills, 95 Senate bills, and co-sponsored countless others.

Jimmy said that next to playing with his grandsons, his most pleasurable moment of the day was his late afternoon visit to the pasture, sitting on the tailgate of his truck and watching the cattle graze. He said, “Each time I’m able to do that, there is a satisfaction for me because I recall the legislation I introduced and passed in 1986 that set up the Alabama Agricultural and Conservation Development Commission to benefit farmers, as well as to protect the environment.”

In addition to the Alabama Agricultural and Conservation Development Commission, Senator Holley considered his legislative work that created the Choctawhatchee, Pea, and Yellow Rivers Watershed Management Authority one of his most notable achievements, as it has helped farmers and all other citizens of the Wiregrass area. From this legislation, the agency has partnered with the Corps of Engineers to rebuild the levees in Elba and Geneva. It has implemented flood-warning monitoring stations throughout Southeast Alabama and has participated with the Alabama Geological Survey to develop the most intensive knowledge basis of groundwater resources in the history of the State of Alabama. Known for his tireless advocacy for his district, Senator Holley accomplished measures that are securing infrastructure improvements in support of Fort Novosel (Rucker), quality of life improvements for the communities he served, expanded education funding and high-speed internet access. He was also deeply involved in the support of workforce development and is credited with helping to establish the Alabama Aviation College in Ozark.

Rather than focus on legislation that garnered public attention, Senator Holley spent most of his legislative career laboring on the parliamentary procedures of the chambers and ensuring that the State House and its myriads of professional staff functioned properly, as well as quietly working on legislation that directly benefitted his constituency. His legislative portfolio includes securing appropriations to help rebuild the City of Elba’s schools after a flood in 1990, rebuilding Enterprise High School after the tragic tornado of 2007, and authoring the legislation that established the largest legislative support staff agency in the state. Many individuals around the statehouse can recount stories of Senator Holley’s reading every single piece of legislation on every calendar for every session day and committee meeting he attended.

Jimmy did not hold personal memberships in civic organizations, as he spent most of his time working for the people of his district and attending functions of his constituency. In June of 2022 parts of US Highway 84 in Coffee County were renamed Senator Jimmy W. Holley Highway in his honor. The Coffee County administration building was named after Senator Holley upon his retirement. He was also given Main Street of Alabama’s Hero Award, which recognizes individuals, businesses, and organizations for outstanding contributions to their local Main Street program. The Alabama Association of Conservation Districts (AACD) named Senator Holley as Alabama Senate Leader of the Year in 2016.

Jill Killough Stallworth, a former assistant to Senator Holley, assessed him as “a dynamic leader: smart, strong, and the voice of reason in Alabama politics for 44 years.” Her personal story of her work with him serves as a fitting tribute to this public servant.

Ms. Stallworth writes:
“In December of 2010, I was hired at the Alabama Senate to work for Senator Jimmy Holley. I didn’t know much about him, so I did a Google search on him, his voting history, and the legislation he sponsored. I asked questions around the halls of the Senate to find out more about my new boss. People told me Holley was a clever, non-nonsense senator who was stern and had no tolerance for incompetence. I immediately started doing my homework to learn all I could about the Alabama legislature to try to make a good impression on Holley. The legislative session started just one month after I was hired, and I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. However, I tried to look ahead of each situation to be prepared for anything that might arise. Senator Holley called me into his office to go over what to expect for my first day of session. He said, ‘You probably don’t know this since you are new, but I need printed copies of all the bills that are assigned to my Governmental Affairs Committee, so I can review them.’ I said, ‘Yes sir, here they are.’ Holley smirked quizzically and said, ‘Thank you, Radar.’ I replied, “You’re welcome, Senator.” A little stunned, Senator Holley said, ‘You probably don’t understand why I called you that.’ I said, ‘Oh yes sir, it’s a reference to the TV sitcom M*A*S*H.’ He asked me how I knew about the show, and I told him I watched reruns with my military veteran dad. From then on, Senator Holley called me “Radar” when he asked for something that I already had in hand and ready to give to him. We had a wonderful working relationship, and the office ran like a well-oiled machine. About a year later I got up the nerve to ask the senator, ‘If I’m Radar, which character are you?” He firmly answered ‘Hawkeye’ and I agreed that it fit him perfectly! Senator Holley was an incredible leader, as well as a father figure to me. His wisdom left an indelible.”

Funeral services for Senator Holley will be held on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, beginning at 2 p.m. at Ino Baptist Church with Minister Greg Hanchey and Donnie Holley officiating. Burial will follow in the Ino Baptist Church Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Thursday, Nov. 7, beginning at 5 p.m. at Ino Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, Mary and the family request that donations in Senator Jimmy W. Holley’s memory be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, donations@michaeljfox.org, or P.O. Box 5014 Hagerstown, Maryland 21741, or to another charity of the donor’s choice.

Hayes Funeral Home & Cremations of Elba, Alabama, is honored to serve the Holley family.