Marissa Holliday
10/26/09
Biography On a frigid day in February of 1993, Ron and Dolores were introduced to a new life. They were no longer alone, but were now accompanied by a fragile child that they were responsible for. On this day, February 8th, 1993 Marissa Holliday was born. Born into a typically large Italian family, she spent a great deal of her child hood around family. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Palm Sunday and Easter were just a few of the many occasions she spent with her family. Marissa spent the first six years of her life with her grandmother, or, “nonna” in Italian. Every morning at roughly seven o’clock, her mother woke her up, gathered her things in a nice neat pile. Marissa grabbed her blanket, which she took everywhere, got into the car and off to nonna’s it was. They rang the doorbell, and within two seconds, she was at the door. “Buongiorno!” she would yell, ecstatic to see them. Once her mom left, the real fun began. They ate breakfast together. Usually scrambled eggs and toast. Unlike many people they knew, the TV was off when they ate. Conversation was very important to them. Lunch was Marissa’s favorite part of the day. Her aunt Carmen stopped by, ate with them, and shared half of her granola bar with Marissa. After lunch at about noon, they would take a 30 minute walk. This gave them a chance to digest their lunch. By the end of the day, after all of the excitement, it was, unfortunately time to return home. The daily routine never changed. Marissa at the age of about 4 entered her per-school years. During this very exciting new time, she met her best friend, Steve Cara. They eventually got to know each other because they were in the same preschool. Through their elementary school years his mom would baby sit her after school. Steve and Marissa, although the best of friends, would get into the most ridiculous arguments mainly accusing each others parents for not loving them. They had a very odd friendship. About a year later, she arrived at the age where she was able to start learning an instrument and joined the Pinewood Elementary band on the flute. She fell in love with the flute and music in general. She became consumed in it. She practiced beyond the required time needed per week, and every week she got a sticker for all of her hard work.
By the end of every year, her folder and lesson book would be covered with stickers or stamps that she had received for practicing. Within that same year, she made her first communion. She bought a beautiful white dress and gloves, and stood up in front of her family and friends in church and took another step forward towards becoming closer to god. She had taken the holy Eucharist for the first time, sang the songs she had been taught, and prayed the prayers she had spent years learning and memorizing. She prayed every night before bed, continuing to keep her faith alive. Sixth grade had arrived and middle school brought another round of experiences. She had continued with the music program, and yet again was infatuated. Music was on her mind 24/7. Following her desires, she took the opportunity to perform in her first N.Y.S.S.M.A (New York State School Music Association) solo. At Level 2, she reached a score of 26 out of a possible 28. Her experience had pushed her further into her obsession of music. This led to desired private lessons once per week in order to further expand her musical interest and skill. Once seventh grade arrived, band opened up to a whole new level. She was able to be in the marching band. The middle school band had performed in various parades and made band even more of a rewarding experience for her. She finally went to her eighth grade moving up ceremony and moved on from middle school and onto the high school. That summer transition from middle school to high school had brought her the memorable and wonderful first band camp experience. For two weeks, 12 hours each day, nothing but music, drill, and focus. The field show that year was entitled “Construction�. Being a member of the band had completely changed her life. She made the most amazing and loyal friends. Steve, Andrew, Alex, Kevin, Cassandra, Sarah, and Sean. With the help of these people she discovered who she truly was and became the person she wanted to become. That year she had performed a Level 3 N.Y.S.S.M.A solo and received a perfect score. During her freshman year of high school she had met her inspiration for becoming a better flautist, and student. Jamie Roscoe. She was the reason why she had done consistently better during high school, and pursued music even further.
That year, the last Sunday of October had arrived, and it was time to perform at the Syracuse Carrier Dome for the N.Y.S.F.B.C (New York State Field Band Conference) championship show. She didn’t realize the intense feeling of performing until she had performed at Dome. The feeling that she acquired while performing at this insanely large location had changed her life. The echoes of the drums, and being able to hear parts of the music which she had never really noticed before gave her a whole new perspective about music and its inter workings. The band took fourth that year. The next year, the band developed a show entitled “Abstract impulse” based on the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. Derived from the art form that he called “NeoPlasticism”, the band used drill which consisted of straight lines, and flags that were the three primary colors. They had won every competition that year by a landslide. It was yet again time for Dome on the last Sunday in October, and for the second time in Mohonasen’s history they won the championship title. This was such a memorable moment for everyone, and they were all ecstatic. That same year, Marissa performed a Level 4 N.Y.S.S.M.A solo, and once again received a perfect score. By this time, she had decided that music was her one true love. It dragged her out of her deepest depression, and had always brightened her day. For a Christmas gift that year, her parents had recalled that Marissa had mentioned how she had always wanted to learn to play alto saxophone, and had decided it would be good for her to learn new things. She had adapted to it very quickly. She had taught herself to play and improved and made the executive decision to switch from flute to alto saxophone for field band purposes. She loved it. And even though she played saxophone more often, she still played her flute at least 2 hours each day. This starts her junior year of high school. Marissa performed the highest level N.Y.S.S.M.A solo, a Level 6, and earned a perfect score. That year’s field show is called “Reflections of War” which features three emotions that come along with war. “Determination”, “Struggle” and “Resilience”. They had won nearly every competition that season, and hoped twofor-two at dome this year. The ride from sky top to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse was intense, and silent, as it is every year. Their show earned third place that year. Marissa tried her best in all aspects of her life. School work many times came as a challenge to her, but her diligence allowed her to acquire decent grades. For
years she struggled with the decision of a profession. But after many years of internal debate, she decided she wanted to pursue a career as a pediatric nutritionist. She always knew she wanted to go into a profession dealing with medicine or chemistry. They were always her strongest points. However, her senior year would officially determine what her decision would be. Marissa’s senior year flew by. The Field band took first place in 2010 and as drum major Marissa was so proud. Although this was an exciting day, the worst day of her young life had inevitably arrived. Marissa graduated high school in June of 2011 with about 270 of her other classmates. She played in the band for the last time, and it was one of the most depressing days of her life thus far. Having to say good bye to people that have basically become her family was something she dreaded for years, and now it was here. Her summer was spent mainly in Rotterdam with her family and friends, doing things that they all felt they needed to do before they all went their separate ways in the fall. They went to old locations, and hung out in the basement of a close friend’s basement, something that they had done often for years. They played man hunt at the school because they all new it had the best hiding spots. They played soccer, Frisbee, ultimate ninja, and FOUR SQUARE. These games all an immense part of every memory they had made together. They resorted back to the beginning days of high school, where their only concerns were what they were doing over the weekend and when the next history project was due. So trivial compared to what they are up against now. That fall, Marissa attended the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Chemistry was a fairly strong point for her in high school, which influenced her decision to veer away from pursuing a career as a pediatric nutritionist, and work to become a Pharmacist. She studied there for 5 years, receiving her Masters degree. She was gad to attend a college that was so close to home because by living at home, she was able to save money by not living on campus. Saving money was very important to her. It was a long journey, but was worth it because she is doing something that she loves. She looks forward to getting up every morning and going to work. One day, roughly 2 years later, in a music store searching for old vinyl records, a man standing next to her, Connor, made a comment about what she had said, about how the quality of sound on a vinyl record is so much nicer than that of CD’s. This sparked up
conversation about their high school years and ironically they were both in their high school band. He played the French horn. They talked for hours and found that they had a lot more in common. They met for lunch almost every week for months, and a relationship formed fairly quickly. He was welcomed into her family with open arms, as was she into his. About a month later, on a summer vacation to Rome, Italy he took Marissa to a beautiful location, got down on one knee, eyes wide and slightly glossed over, and popped the “big question”. Stunned, Marissa couldn’t bring herself to say anything. He stood up and took her in his arms knowing well what her answer was. On a beautiful spring day in April of 2018, they were joined in holy matrimony. The wedding took place in a beautiful Roman Catholic church. Stained glass windows let the light shine through in beautiful, rich colors. Marissa wore a stunning white dress with an extraordinarily long train that was held up by two of her bride’s maids as she nervously walked down the aisle. In front of all of their family and friends the young couple recited their vows. With such busy lives, about one year after their wedding, they were shocked to find out that they were expecting their first child. At first, Marissa didn’t know weather to be happy or frightened. In May of 2019, weighing a healthy seven pounds, six ounces, baby girl Hailey was born. Hailey had a beautiful childhood. She succeeded in school, and by the time she reached high school, was involved in various honors societies. She, as well as her mother and father, joined band. Her parents were able to reminisce about their high school band days. Spending quality time with the “bandies” was something she spoke about often. Graduation day had arrived and Marissa and Connor were a wreck. Seeing Hailey play with the band for the last time, brought back the memories from Marissa’s graduation. The emotions were off the scale. That fall Hailey was off to college at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied to become a cardiologist. She was always studying and never really had time for hanging out with friends. Hailey graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023 and was off to continue her education. Years and years later, Marissa’s mother had died of an ongoing case of stomach cancer. When it was diagnosed, it was too late to even attempt to. She had lived a long and beautiful life. Within a year of her mother’s death, her father also died. He died
mainly of old age. The death of both parents devastated the family. Hailey came home from college, and Marissa was a wreck. The whole family got together to mourn the loss of the both Dolores and Ron, and they knew that if they can handle this, they can handle anything. Marissa was so proud the day her grandson, Andrew was born. She remembers the way Hailey looked at her when she first held her, and watching her daughter gave her such a pleasurable feeling. Her daughter was well taken care of. She had an amazing husband, and a child to keep her company. Marissa died in May of 2075. Her funeral was attended by many of her friends and family. Marissa although having suffered Type 1 Diabetes for years, died a happy woman. She knew that she had lived a full life, and that her children and grand children were well taken care of. She will always be remembered as a wife, a mother, a friend and just as she always wanted, she was remembered as “nonna�. She will continue to look after her family for all of eternity and help them whenever they should need her.