Mona Holliday, a former Pacific Palisades resident, peacefully passed away on September 22 at the Ocean House in Santa Monica, where she had lived the past six years. She was 99. Born on April 21, 1911, Mona grew up in a small town in Minnesota, where her father was the only doctor for the town and surrounding countryside and her mother ran her father’s medical practice and helped him attend to patients. Mona began studying music at an early age and was a gifted musician. She continued to play the piano (including jazz by ear) well into her 90s. She was also an avid reader and an excellent student, graduating from high school at the age of 16. She majored in music at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and upon graduating in 1931, was one of the few young graduates able to get a job during the Depression years, teaching music to children in Minnesota. In 1933, Mona met Peter Holliday, her future husband and the love of her life. He was a talented young singer, and after he and Mona were married a year later, they moved to New York, where Peter studied opera and performed with a quartet in several Broadway shows. Mona often accompanied Peter on the piano, but also sold jewelry at Bergdorf Goodman. The years Mona and Peter spent in New York were some of the happiest of their lives, and Mona loved telling stories of their adventures there. After Pearl Harbor in 1941, Peter gave up his musical career and began working as an electrical engineer at a munitions plant. He and Mona moved to the Midwest, where their two daughters, Judith and Susan, were born. In her mid-40s, Mona acquired an expanded credential and began teaching history and social studies to junior high and high school students. In 1966, with both their daughters grown, Mona and Peter started a new adventure. They moved to San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where Peter managed a Lockheed plant and Mona learned enough Spanish to navigate the markets and make some new friends. After two years, they moved to Los Angeles. During the ’70s, they lived in Pacific Palisades before moving to Vista. When Peter died in 1993, Mona moved back to the Palisades to be near her daughter, Susan, a 20-year resident. At 82, Mona began a new life, joining the Palisades Presbyterian Church and various local groups, while making new friends. She loved her condo in the Highlands, the beautiful scenery and climate of the Palisades and, most of all, the many wonderful people she met here. She was saddened to have to move out when she was 93, but a bad fall and broken pelvis required more assistance and care, which Ocean House was able to provide her. Up through her final days, Mona was blessed by the loving care of her aide and companion, Monet Jose. Mona is survived by her daughters, Susan Holliday and Judith Rothman (husband Mike); her granddaughter Natalia Lincoln and grandson Tony Lincoln (wife Denise); her twin great-granddaughters Sophia and Madeleine; and her nephew John Watson (wife Gail). A memorial service will be held on October 16 at 2:30 p.m. at the Palisades Presbyterian Church, 15821 Sunset Blvd. Friends and neighbors are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the church.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
