- April 26, 2024
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Eli Michael Holley, 39, a 1995 Seabreeze High School graduate, died in a motorcycle crash in Duval County on June 24. His passenger, Renae Nichole McLaughlin, 34, of Jacksonville, was also killed.
The Florida Highway Patrol reported that Holley was eastbound on State Road 115, when he traveled onto the ramp to northbound State Road 113. He did not negotiate the curve and collided with the concrete barrier. Holley and his passenger were both thrown from the motorcycle.
Holley moved to Ormond Beach in 1994. After graduation from high school, he worked his way up to being the resident DJ at Club 600 North, which was his favorite memory, according to his brother, Tyler.
Holley started a personal training business based out of Total Nutrition Gym in Daytona Beach.
“He worked with so many people, whether athletes, handicapped, young, old, skinny or overweight,” Tyler Holley said “He would never judge. He always found ways to uplift and motivate his clients both physically and mentally.”
Eli Holley also learned to build motocycles at Wide Open Cycles and received a sports medicine degree at Keiser College.
In January, Eli moved to St. Augustine to attend Tulsa Welding School. Tyler said the principal of the school called him, and told him Eli often stayed late to perfect his trade and help others out.
“A common theme with Eli,” Tyler said.
Eli Holley was a fitness and motorcycle enthusiast, and his brother said that nothing cleared his mind more than a weight-lifting session and a ride afterward. His favorite part of Ormond Beach was the Loop at sunset, and he had countless photos taken driving over the Granada Bridge.
“Eli was my brother, but also my best friend,” Tyler Holley said. “We were inseparable. We were always known around town as the Holley Brothers. So we created HolleyBrothersInc, LLC recently. Not only was it a hashtag for us to index all of our fun photos, but it was a new company where we would fix up old trucks and motorcycles.”
Eli Holley rode dirt bikes as a boy and, as an adult, owned sport bikes and Harley-Davidsons.
“He died doing what he loved that’s for sure,” Tyler said. “In Ormond Beach, we have wonderful memories and proud to say Ormond will always be our hometown. The people of Ormond and Daytona have really stepped up for our family and words cannot express how grateful we are for the support.”
He is survived by his mother, Toni Michel Svoboda; father, Randy Holley; and brother, Tyler.
The funeral is scheduled for July 2 at Lohman's Funeral Home, 733 W. Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach. A celebration gathering will follow. For service times, visit Lohmanfuneralhome.com.
