Sadie Ladelle Wooden Holt

While her family roots trace back to Orange County Virginia, Sadie Ladelle Wooden Holt was born July 20, 1931, in Bogalusa, Louisiana, and lived every moment of this precious life until August 20, 2022. She treasured many fond memories of growing up with her parents, Lena Souder Wooden and Howard Irvin Wooden, Sr., along with her siblings, Frenchie Ramsey, Mary Griffin, Wilna Williamson, Oliva Francour, Howard “Bubba” Wooden, Jr., and her adopted brother, Wayne Williams, and loved telling stories about growing up in Port St. Joe, Florida. Sadie’s time in Port St. Joe established her lifelong love of the beach. Because of her father’s work in the pulp industry, in 1944, her family moved to Elberta in Warner Robins, Georgia. Their family owned a small grocery store where Elberta Road meets Highway 247. Her mom, along with her siblings, managed the store which had a sleeping room to accommodate travelers since hotels and motels were not nearby. Sadie attended Bonaire High School until it burned and subsequently graduated from Warner Robins High School, class of 1949. In 1963 she came to her senses and became a lifelong Northside Eagle, though she always kept a soft spot in her heart for her alma mater.

Sadie met the love of her life, Charles Ray Holt, Sr., early in 1949 and they married on September 25th of the same year. Charles was from Overton County, Tennessee and his military service led him to Warner Robins. They started their family the following year. Sadie leaves behind her children, Cynthia Alexander, Charles Ray Holt, Jr. (Angie), Cheryl Naja (Hassan), Cathie Wood (Bobby), and Clay Holt (Suzi), dozens of beloved nieces and nephews, along with ten grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren who will cherish a variety of memories that will always be with them. Sadie especially enjoyed making lots of early childhood summer memories with her grandson, Sami Naja, and babysitting her granddaughter, Melanie “Mellie” Wood, and these memories were extremely special to her and her husband. She also leaves behind her constant companions, her dog, Bessie, and her cat, Sammy. Sadie was predeceased by her grandson, Richard Gresham, and her loving husband, Charles.

Being involved and part of the community was deeply engrained in Sadie Holt, and she instilled this trait in her children, always leading by example. She started her career on Robins AFB in keypunch working shifts and continued working on the base for many years (with a short break in the 70s) until she retired from the 5th Mob. Sadie was a gifted artist and ceramicist and was the owner of Holt Gifts and Ceramics located in Elberta. Sadie was a realtor and achieved Million Dollar Club in 1994. In her early years of family life, Sadie was active in Elberta Baptist Church, a church founded by her father, until 1960, when the family moved their membership to the Warner Robins First Baptist Church. Sadie was so very proud to be a Baptist. Over the years she sang in the choir, led the youth group, led the senior’s group, taught children’s Sunday School, was a member of the WMU, and was an active member of her Sunday School Class, Sonshine. This group of women remained close friends throughout their lives. Because of her leadership in the church, the Southern Baptist Convention asked her to write Sunday School curriculum and invited her to teach summer training courses at Ridgecrest Baptist Assembly in North Carolina, from 1966 through 1974.

Gardening played an important part in Sadie’s life. In Warner Robins, she was a pioneer member of the Bud and Bloom Garden Club and was one of the first people in the city to study Ikebana, the Japanese art of floral arrangement in 1963. She later became a Master Gardener in the first class of Houston County Master Gardeners and loved plant swapping and roadside digs to preserve native plants. She shared her love of plants and expertise with many people, especially her children. Today many of the plants in her garden are cherished cuttings and plants that came from her father’s garden.

Sadie redefined the term “active in the community.” Even as a full-time working mother of five children, she was an organizing member of the local Toastmistress chapter, President of the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU) for the Rehoboth Association, Board member of the Salvation Army, and a volunteer with GEMA’s VOAD network. She was proud to be a volunteer with Habitat and was recognized as the Warner Robins Business and Professional Women’s Club Woman of Achievement in 1982. Sadie was one of the founding members and former President of the Warner Robins Pioneer Club, a founding member of The American Rosie the Riveter Association, and went on to serve as the president of this national organization in 2007. Her story of growing up and helping during the war effort is part of Rosie the Riveter’s archived history with the Library of Congress. She was a first-aid volunteer for the historic Byron Pop Festival, a Girl Scout leader, little league cheer team mom, Boy Scout troop sponsor, and Charter Member of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 987 where she served as the Union Steward for many years. In addition, she was the first national award recipient of AFGE’s Randolph Humphrey Award presented to her by Geraldine Ferraro. Sadie was a former member of the Martha Berry Eastern Star, a volunteer with Houston County Council on Aging/Meals on Wheels, a volunteer with Central Georgia NAMI, one of the first Fair Cracker volunteers for the Georgia National Fair, a Silver Haired Legislator for Georgia and in this role served as a campaigner for Social Security in Washington, D.C. representing the State of Georgia during the Clinton Administration. She led the Clydesdale Horses in the Cotton Bowl Parade in 1991, served for many years as a volunteer with the Master Gardener Extension Program, was an accomplished marksman, and was a host parent for her cherished international high school student from Kazakhstan, Murat Aubakirov.

Sadie participated in one of the country’s largest women’s studies, the Women’s Health Initiative, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and led in Georgia by Emory University. She was grateful to be a breast cancer survivor and wanted to impact the future of women’s health care by being a part of this significant health study.

Sadie was a brave and bold woman who often stepped up when no one else would do so. She was never afraid to speak her mind but also noticed and heard the voices of those who needed help and support. Because of this many people turned to Sadie Holt when in crisis. In so many of these situations, she would enlist the help of her husband Charles, and they would help, defend, house or support those who so many people might have avoided. Together these two impacted the lives of so many people in their hometown and beyond. Her children continuously hear stories of Sadie and Charles’ impact, and stories of their strong faith in action.

Sadie always wished she had gotten a law degree but even without it, she influenced and impacted the lives of more people than even she realized. She was a bold leader who never minded rubbing people the wrong way if she could do so and make a difference.

Her family is deeply grateful to Patrice Thomas, Rachel Davis, Sarah Menard, Keke Oliver, Marquessa Fullwood, Meals on Wheels, Doreen Abrigo, Dr. Al-Shroof, and Enhabit hospice for their loving care. Sadie’s “baby” boy, Clay, his wife Suzi, and her “baby” girl, Cathie, and her husband, Bobby, had the privilege of being her neighbors and unselfishly joined in their mother’s day-to-day constant loving support in her final days.

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at McCullough Funeral Home. A second visitation will take place on Wednesday, August 24, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. prior to the service being held at 11:00 a.m. in the chapel of McCullough Funeral Home. Sadie will be laid to rest in Magnolia Park Cemetery following the service.

The family kindly asks that you consider donations to Elberta Baptist Church, 1631 Malcolm Thigpen Rd., Rockledge, GA 30454 or to Meals on Wheels http://www.hocomow.org/, P.O. Box 118, Warner Robins, GA 31099, instead of flowers.

Learn more about the measures McCullough Funeral Home is taking to ensure the health and safety of our guests at www.mcculloughfh.com. There you can also sign an Online Registry for the family. McCullough Funeral Home and Crematory has the privilege of being entrusted with these arrangements.