James Ray Holliday 82 of Newberry died Thursday July 16 2009 at Newberry County Memorial Hospital. He was born on February 18 1927 in Anderson County a son of the late James Haskell and Annie Crawford Holliday. He graduated from Boys High School in Anderson and attended Anderson College. Mr. Holliday was the owner and operator of Newberry Square Grocery. He was a member and former Deacon of Aveleigh Presbyterian Church a member of the Neil Truesdell Sunday School Class and the Forever Young group. Mr. Holliday was very active in his community. He was a founding member of the Newberry Opera House revitalization and he and his wife served the rural areas of Newberry County as Chairpersons for the Newberry County unit of the American Cancer Society for 20 years. In addition as a special project for more than six years he enjoyed planting year-round flower gardens at the J.F. Hawkins Nursing Home for residents and visitors to enjoy. Mr. Holliday is survived by his wife Mildred Koger Holliday; a twin brother Haskell Roy Holliday of Rome GA; nieces Debbie (Paul) Griffin of Marrietta GA and Susan (Robert) Owens of Roswell GA; nephews Frank (Kim) Sligh of Newberry and Stanley (Sharon) Holcombe of Anderson. He was predeceased by sisters Harriet H. Sligh and Margaret H. Holcombe. Visitation was held from 6:00 to 7:00 P M on Friday at Whitaker Funeral Home in Newberry. Funeral services were conducted at 2:00 PM Saturday at Aveleigh Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Dr. Mitchell VanMetre. Interment was in Newberry Memorial Gardens.Active pallbearers were Bill Hendrix Bill Ehney Frank Sligh Stanley Holcombe Bob Owens Michael Owens Frank Owens Carey Sligh Derek Sligh and Bryan Bedenbaugh.Memorials may be made to Aveleigh Presbyterian Church 1211 Calhoun St. Newberry SC 29108; Newberry Opera House PO Box 357 Newberry SC 29018; or to a charity of one's choice. Messages to the family may be sent via email at notes@whitakerfuneralhome.com. Whitaker Funeral Home Newberry is assisting the family.