Features Editor

Hollis Sunday, an employee with the City of Troy’s grounds department, died Monday, making April 15 a black -ribbon day for city employees.

"I don’t know of anyone who had a better work ethic or was more committed to his job or more dedicated to his community than Hollis," said Raymond Sexton, grounds superintendent. "He had worked with the city for five years, and every day he came to work he took pride in the job he did."

Sexton said almost everyone in Troy knew Sunday and respected him for his efforts to make Troy a more beautiful place in which to live.

"Everyone on the square knew him because he was always around, working to make sure that everything looked good," he said. "Hollis took a lot of pride in our community, and that kind of rubbed off on other people. He made us all work a lot harder by his example."

Troy Mayor Jimmy Lunsford was out of town on Tuesday, but Sheila Jackson, public relations director, said the

mayor was saddened by the news.

"You won’t find a better worker anywhere than Hollis Sunday," Jackson said. "I’ve heard the mayor say that many times. We all knew what a good, dependable employee he was. The mayor has received letters from citizens who recognized the kind of job Hollis was doing for the city and for the community. That says a lot about a person when people notice and appreciate the kind of job you do."

Jackson said after Sunday retired from Troy State University, where he worked with the maintenance department, he chose to keep working rather than sit on the porch in a rocking chair.

"That’s just the kind of man he was," she said.