Odelle Jordan Holley

Odelle Jordan Holley, a beloved Wife, Mom, Lola, Grandmommy, Gigi, Aunt, and friend, went home to be with the Lord, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at the age of 104 after a brief illness. Born in Wallace, Alabama on January 23, 1921, Odelle’s life was a testament to her unwavering love for family, faith, and her community.

Odelle spent her early years in Brewton, Alabama, with her parents, 3 sisters, and 2 brothers. She graduated from T. R. Miller High School in Brewton, and attended one year at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. She worked at Selective Service in Montgomery and met her husband-to-be, Roy Holley through her friend and future sister-in-law. When Roy proposed he told Odelle she didn’t need to answer right away, so she took him up on it and accepted later, even though she knew her answer was “Yes”.

Odelle and Roy married in Brewton on April 20, 1946, and remained married for 70 years until Roy passed away December 19, 2016. She was a proud military spouse who served in that role, along with Roy, from 1946 through 1967, when he retired from the Air Force and they moved to Raleigh, NC for his next career. They spent the remainder of their marriage in their final hometown of Raleigh. Sometimes friends would ask if it was hard on her moving every few years, but she always said she loved that part – they lived in at least ten cities, including Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany, during their marriage.

A woman of deep faith, Odelle was a member of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Raleigh for almost 60 years, where she participated in the Walter Anderson Sunday School class, co-chaired the Altar Guild, and participated in one of the church circles.

She was an avid sports fan – loved to bowl and to watch all types of sports – basketball, baseball, golf, football, tennis, even curling and roller derby. Other activities she loved were creating needlework and embroidery, doing crafts of all kinds, sewing clothes for her children, making beaded flowers, and ceramics. She collected cookbooks from every place she lived or visited and enjoyed testing out different recipes on her kids and guests.

In their retirement, Odelle and Roy especially enjoyed travelling the world to places such as Alaska, Oberammergau, Jerusalem, Australia, New Zealand, Aruba, England, and Canada.

Odelle’s family is so proud of her for the life she lived – always kind and caring, providing love, support, and humor to her family and her friends. She was determined to do the best she could, and to live a life serving others. We will miss her every day.

The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the staff at Magnolia Glen, Interim HealthCare, and Legacy for the love, compassion, and exceptional care they showed to Odelle.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, Roy Holley; parents, Ollie and Ida Jordan; brothers Clifton (Bettie) Jordan, Marcus Jordan; sisters Cleo (Bob) Ansley, Vonceil (W.O.) Greene, Betty Jean Golemon; sister-in-law Annie Merle (Bobby) Gentry, brother-in-law Charles (Mary) Holley.

Odelle is survived by her children Marcus (Oppie) Holley, Rebecca (Vincent) Townsend, Robin Holley; grandchildren Siegfried Holley, Owen Holley, Katelyn (Will) Armfield, Tim Townsend, Kyle Townsend (fiancée Laura Warren); great-granddaughters Victoria Armfield, Caroline Armfield, Eliza Armfield.

The family will receive friends at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 4801 Six Forks Road, Raleigh, NC 27609, on Friday, April 25 starting at 10:00am, followed by a funeral service at the church at 11:00 am.

The graveside service for the family will be held at Raleigh Memorial Park, 7501 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27612 immediately after the service at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Mark’s United Methodist Church or to a charity of your choice.