Elijah Holley

Elijah Holley, one out of five siblings born to Arthur and Annie Holley, was born on January 9,1928 in Wetumpka, Alabama.

Before leaving home in the south at age 14, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord & Savior and began his journey of taking care of himself. His first job was as a dishwasher. That job lasted two years before moving to Gaston, Alabama. He then was employed by Louisville National Railroad as a freight porter. Here he traveled place to place repairing bridges. He was also a cook for his team. In 1953, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Shortly thereafter, Elijah began to work for Revale/Republic Steel and retired from there in 1989. After arriving in Cleveland, the following year, Elijah united with Temple Baptist Church under Pastor Ward. He joined the radio combined choir and the usher board ministry...and there he remained.

Elijah married and from the marriage, one daughter, Gayle Audrell, was born. She has since retired as a tenured professor from Harold Washington College, one of the city colleges of Chicago. Elijah is also survived by his sister, Odesser Martin of Baton Rouge, LA., step-daughter, Yvonne Windom(Michael), grandsons Damian A. Sanders of the United States Navy, Darien A. Sanders, an artist, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews , cousins, and a host of other relatives and longtime friends. Elijah was quite a spirited man and over the years developed many loving and lasting relationships. The scripture he lived by is Exodus Chapter 20: The Ten Commandments.