Herbert Holley

Herbert Holley was born March 5, 1943, in Norfolk, Virginia, to the parentage of Emma Bills and Henry Lawhorn, Jr. Herbert accepted Christ at a young age. He moved to Dallas, Texas, at the age of twelve (12) and continued his education at Lincoln High School, where he met a host of lifelong friends.

Then, Herbert moved to New York to live with one of his favorite aunts, Carrie Holley. He later started working as a chef and server to soldiers on the ships for the Merchant Seaman, a contractor for the United States Naval Services. On one of his return trips on a train from South Carolina, Herbert met the woman of his dreams and the love of life, his wife, Laverta Holley, affectionately called “Anna,” whom he has been married to for over 40 years. They decided to take residence in Brooklyn, New York, where his wife went to college, and later they moved into the Philip Howard Building, where Herbert and Anna continued to be neighborly and met more lifelong friends such as neighbors, Rose Smith, John Thomas, and Michelle & Carl Brown. Herbert was Anna’s main caregiver for over fifteen (15) years and was known for being such a wonderful and devoted husband.

Herbert was preceded in death by his daughter, Toni Faye Holley (mother, Caroline); his grandparents, Lillie Holley and Robert Holley; his aunts, Clara Speller, Mae Helen Holley, Ruth Hayes, Naomi Cole, and Carrie Holley; and his uncles, Robert Holley and Emmanuel Holley.

Herbert leaves to cherish his loving wife, Laverta Holley; his mother, Emma Bills; his stepfather, Dennis Bills, Jr.; his uncle, James Holley; his sisters, Sheba Ward and Lillie Bills; and brothers, Dennis Bills, III (Lori) and Marlon Bills (Wanda); his grandson, Darrell Anthony Holley; and many caring great-grandchildren, cousins, nephews, nieces, and host of relatives and friends.