Obituary of Richard Holliday Richard Woodbridge Holliday—A Life Well-Lived Richard Woodbridge Holliday, the first of two children born to Richard Wellington Holliday and Loretta Reilly Holliday, was born July 20, 1924 at his family’s home in Richmond Hill, Queens, NY and passed away on January 18, 2019. Richard, affectionately known as Dick by friends and family, and Pop Pop by his seven grandchildren, was blessed to live a long, happy and healthy life. He grew up in Queens, graduating from John Adams High School in 1942.
He attended the University of North Carolina until his education was interrupted by WWII. Richard joined the United States Army in 1943, rising to the rank of Technician 5th grade, a rank addressed as Corporal. Technicians possessed specialized skills that were rewarded with a higher pay grade.
Stationed in Europe during WWII, he served as a radio operator and participated in The Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front and one of the largest battles fought by the U.S. Army (December 1944-January 1945). He received numerous commendations including the Bronze Star, American Service Medal, FAME Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal and Good Conduct Medal. After his honorable discharge from the Army in 1946, he joined his father’s insurance investigation firm in Manhattan until he eventually opened his own insurance agency with two partners, O’Connell, Holliday & Jonas, located in Nassau County, Long Island, NY in the 1950s.
Richard was a highly regarded property and casualty insurance broker who was frequently consulted as an insurance expert in trials and by the New York State Insurance Department to assist with the creation of insurance textbooks. In 1971 he was elected president of the Long Island Chapter of the Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters. He took a strong liking to teaching insurance on a part-time basis for the College of Insurance in Manhattan and simultaneously completed his Bachelors Degree, which had been interrupted by WWII, in the mid ’70s.
He later sold his insurance agency after being named the Chairman of the Insurance Department at The College of Insurance, which is now part of St. John’s University. Richard married Joan Marshall in 1951 and settled in Wantagh, NY before moving to East Northport, NY in 1962, where he and his former wife raised their four children in the home he maintained until his death. Richard’s lifelong passions were music and genealogy.
He learned to play the piano at the age of five, took up organ playing as an adult and was a multi-decade patron of the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. A daughter’s middle school family tree project evolved into a dedicated 45-year hobby that not only brought him great joy, but introduced him to relatives around the world. Richard “Dick” Holliday was highly regarded in the Long Island genealogy community; he was chairman of the Huntington Historical Society and also actively involved with numerous organizations including the Northport Historical Society, The Genealogy Federation of Long Island, the Irish Family History Forum, the Patchogue-Medford Library Genealogy Research Group, and the German Genealogy Group.
Richard leaves behind his four beloved children, Lori Holliday Banks, Gail Sorli, Nancy Holliday and Richard Holliday; their spouses, Gregory Banks, Raymond Sorli and Diane Holliday; seven grandchildren, Kyla Sorli, Alyssa Banks, Lindsey Banks, Grace Holliday, Evan Holliday, Nathan Holliday and Caleb Holliday; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Reposing at Nolan Funeral Home, 5 Laurel Avenue, Northport on Thursday, January 24 from 2-5 and 7-9 PM. Funeral Mass, Friday 9:45 AM, St. Anthony of Padua R.C. Church, East Northport.
Interment to follow, with U.S. Army Military Honors, at Calverton National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the American Red Cross or a charity of your choice.
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