She didn't enroll at Auburn University immediately after graduating from high school because her parents couldn't afford the $50 a year tuition fee at the time, but they scraped, saved and prepared for a day when they could.

"Mother and Daddy decided if we had to do without everything, we'd do it,'' Holladay said in an interview for the 2004 Keystone. "I was going to Auburn.''

Holladay, who passed away in January 2009 at 93, made the most of her time on the Plains.

The Chambers County, Ala., native earned three degrees from the College of Education, including bachelor's degrees in math and home economics and a master's degree in 1964. After teaching in Gadsden, Ala., for two years, Holladay found her career calling as a home demonstration agent for the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service  . The job entailed helping Alabamians develop successful households, whether it involved developing and adhering to a budget or learning how to sew. She worked all over the state, making stops in Conecuh, Baldwin and Russell counties before retiring in 1971.

Even in retirement, Holladay continually demonstrated her capacity for helping others. She was a dedicated supporter of the College of Education and other Auburn University academic departments and programs. In addition to being recognized by the College of Education's 1915 Society as a Pillar of Dedication for contributions in excess of $500,000, including an estate gift, Holladay's generosity extended to the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Architecture, Design and Construction and the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art.