Ronald Stephen Holley

Ronald Stephen Holley passed away October 19, 2024, after a brief illness. He was 81. Ron was born October 2, 1943, in Wellington, Texas to Willie Gay Slagle and Jonathan Paul Holley, they both preceded him in death.

Willie Gay had nine children, but Ron was her most famous child. Ron was preceded in death by his brothers Thomas Franklin Holley, William Derrel Holley, Paul Dale Holley, Jesse James Simmons and his beloved Sister, Rose Gay Simmons. He is survived by his dear sisters, Patricia Ann Simmons, Nancy Shipp and Mary Jean Wilkins, and by his son, Sean “Tonto” Powell.

He was born on a cotton farm in North Texas and moved to many places from Oklahoma to Eureka, Ca. where they split wood for grape stakes. When he was a teenager, he left the farm to work on automatic transmissions in Dallas, Tx. In 1968 he moved to Atlanta and took a job at Harp Transmission on Memorial Drive. In the 1970’s he ran his own shop on Lee Street in Atlanta until he opened, “Transmissions by Ron” at 965 Huff Road NW, Atlanta building the best European transmissions for wholesale clientele only, having vowed to never again work in retail car repair. He never really retired, it wasn’t in his nature, and he could be relied on to answer any question. He remembered every problem and its solution.

He was unfailingly generous, dedicated his life to his family and those that became his family. He bought a home for his mother before he bought one for himself. He was dedicated to animals and horticulture. He meticulously maintained his wooded lot in Acworth, carefully staggering the blooming seasons of the azaleas and camellias, while making sure the deer and birds were fed every day no matter what.

He pursued his family genealogy for decades with a rigor seldom seen outside of academia. Before online resources existed, he combed regional archives and ordered county records eschewing easy answers and only recording what he could prove.

He was an active member of “The Sons of the American Revolution”, caring for the gravestones and cemeteries all over the south.

There is a void where a great man once stood. He was the person that so many of us turned to with a question about life, how to grow daphne, how to fix a broken tractor. He was one of the last true southern gentlemen.

Funeral Service are at Woodstock Funeral Home on Saturday, October 26th at 12 pm, followed by interment at Mars Hill Cemetery in Acworth, Ga. Flowers are welcome.