Clyde Holloway obit

Clyde Holloway Obituary

 

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Clyde C. Holloway, a businessman, public servant, and family man, died Oct. 16, 2016, at his home in Forest Hill, Louisiana. He was 72.

Holloway served constituents of the 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993. At the time of his death, he was the chairman of the Louisiana Public Service Commission where he served as a member since 2009. Holloway rose to prominence in the 1980s when he and fellow parents challenged a federal judge's order to close the public school in his hometown of Forest Hill. They formed Forest Hill Academy, where Holloway served as its first principal and Chairman of the Board. He was an ever-present leader, donor, and champion of the school and its students.

Holloway founded and owned Clyde Holloway Nursery that he started with his wife, Catherine, in 1968 and maintained to his death. They also owned and operated Forest Hill Speedway for more than twenty years.

Clyde was born to James and Ever Holloway as the fourth of seven children. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Catherine K. Holloway; four children: Timothy, Mark (David Kahl), Rebecca Ebert (Randy), and Sara Bruner (Bryan); and nine grandchildren: Caleb, John and Ava Holloway; Evan, Hendrix and Faith Ebert; and Robby, Anne and Will Bruner. He is also survived by his six loving siblings, Carl (Lydia), Virginia Martin (Al Smart), Charlie (Brenda), Vivian Kurtz (Gary "Bud"), Claude (Vergie), Lillian Langston (John), and dozens of nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held at Elwood Baptist Church, 213 Elwood Road in Forest Hill on Friday, October 21, at 2-5pm and 6-9pm.

Holloway first gained public attention in 1980, when he led an anti-bussing movement in Rapides Parish, opposing a federal court's desegregation order. He led a group of white parents who seized a local elementary school that was set to be shuttered and operated it for their children. Holloway told reporters that he doubted federal judge Nauman Scott "would send federal marshals" to empty the building. Prompted by local support, Holloway launched his first campaign for Congress, losing to incumbent Gillis Long by more than 40 percentage points.

Holloway faced pushback for a public forum at which he said he would no longer urge his followers to remain calm: "If they want to burn [schools], let them go. We don't have anything left so let them do it." The local daily, The Town Talk, called it a "betrayal" of his supporters and that Holloway had given "his personal go-ahead Friday night to those who think the torching of school buildings is the best solution to the desegregation mess."

After failing to stop the desegregation order, Holloway and his wife launched the Forrest Hill Academy, a segregation academy, in protest and ran it until its closure in 2004.

Holloway won election to Louisiana's 8th congressional district as a Republican, and was re-elected two more times before being redistricted to the 6th district and losing re-election. Holloway won the first round of votes against Richard Baker, but lost in the runoff with 49.4% of the vote to Baker's 50.6%. He was a candidate for Governor in the 1991 jungle primary, ultimately running a distant fourth behind Governor Buddy Roemer, State Representative and former Ku Klux Klan wizard David Duke, and the ultimate winner, former Governor Edwin Edwards.