Roll Call Tribute

Joseph William Hollaway III
March 18, 1948 - February 16, 2021

Joseph William Hollaway III, born March 18, 1948 to Joseph William (Bill) '45 and Nancy Beggs Hollaway in Hondo, Texas, passed away on February 16, 2021 at his home outside of Columbus, Texas. He was a devoted husband to his loving wife of 31 years, Sheri '85; an amazing brother to Steve '74 and Jane; the loving father of Lindsay Ann Hollaway of Katy, Kristen Jane True of Boerne, and John Shelby Hollaway '13 of Austin; uncle to Leslie Ann and Lauren Elizabeth Hollaway and Blake and Ashley Edwards; and grandfather to Maysen, Camren and Matthew.

After the family moved to San Antonio from the farm in Hondo, Joe attended John Marshall High School where many lifelong friendships were formed. After graduating in 1966, Joe attended Texas A&M University and earned his Industrial Engineering degree in 1970. He was a proud fighting Texas Aggie his entire life. Joe and Sheri were long-time residents of Houston, Missouri City and Austin, Texas. After a 40-year career spanning construction firms such as HB Zachry, Kokosing Construction and Dan Williams Construction, Joe and Sheri “retired” to Columbus, Texas in 2010. But those are Joe’s statistics, but they’re not truly descriptive of the Joe we knew and loved.

We can tell you of his kindness, his intelligence, his compassion, his wonderful sense of humor. A smile for friends, old and new, that would light up the room. He never met a stranger and had a laugh that came straight from his heart. We can tell you of his love of flying and aircraft and relate his stories of rides through the Texas Hill Country on his HD Sportster. He loved watching Aggie Football and planned Saturday activities in the fall around the games. He was forever curious and constantly learning new things; he loved traveling and visiting new places. He was a gardener. He worked with his hands and could fix anything – a trait he passed on to his son. He was the go-to answer-guy for his brother’s and son’s “how do I do something” questions and the loving advisor for his wife and daughters. And the beautiful, wonderful man was always there for all of us.

But he had to leave us behind as he moved on to his next world, his next life, and we struggle with how to say goodbye to one who loved us as much as we loved him. He fought a long and brilliant battle against multiple myeloma and aggressive bladder cancer. He just didn’t win. Farewell, Joe, you are in our hearts.

At Joe’s request, there will be no memorial service or funeral. Instead, the family will hold a celebration of life bbq on March 20, 2021 at 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm at the home of Joe and Sheri Hollaway at 1110 Mentzwood Trail, Alleyton, TX. All are invited and encouraged to join us in celebration of his wonderful life.

In lieu of flowers and cards, the family requests donations be made to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.