By, George

[Some thoughts and reflections about the father of 3 of my closest friends…my sisters…in every sense of the word]

Those who have a commanding and powerful voice are quite often misunderstood.  Such was the case with the man I lovingly called "Pops" for over 26 years. 

With that commanding voice, quick wit and sharp sense of humor, George Hollis knew he could — and did — scare the bejesus out of us kids back in the day. The funny thing is, once you got to know him, as I was fortunate to, you quickly realized that his bark was far worse than his bite. 

He was a loving husband, amazing father and doting grandfather. To see him with his family was a real treat. In this day and age when everyone is too busy for everything and everyone, he made it his mission to make sure his family did things together. Nowadays his style and commitment to family would be considered 'old school.' Call it what you want, but if I'm ever fortunate enough to have a family of my own, I won't have to look far…I've seen how it should be done. 

His love of family was with him right until the end. During the long hospital visits he would hold hands with all of us. Though he could not speak, he did so mostly with his eyes and his trademark expressions. In fact, the last time I saw him before he fell into a state of unconsciousness, he gave me his trademark wink as we arrived for a Sunday visit. It was the same wink he'd given to me on countless occasions over the years.  I'll never be able to express what that little gesture meant to me at that moment, but in short that was Pops. 

There are those who believe that the strong find a way to hang on until they are certain their loved ones will be OK after they have gone. I will be forever convinced that Pops stayed with us until he was certain his girls would be OK. 

That's just the kind of man he was…and always will be.