William Hubbard Hollon Sr.'s Obituary
Hub, as he was called, was born on December 18, 1924 to William Randolph Hollon and Lillian Oelsia Hollon. Hub was christened in the Lambeth Methodist Church as an infant. He was raised a methodist and attended this same neighborhood church all of his life until 1956. Hub attended Silberatine Grade School. He graduated from Forest Avenue High School in 1943. He attended NTAC College at Arlington, Texas. Hub played football while attending Forest Avenue High School. He was written up in the school paper many times for the good plays he made. He was also written up in the Dallas newspaper for his football plays. Hub played baseball while attending NTAC. He was a pitcher and received honors for his excellent pitching. He excelled as a pitcher even though he had just gotten over an accident at an ice plant where he worked. He got his right arm in an ice cutting machine. The arm was almost severed. The doctor was able to put it back together and it healed very well. He loved to show his scar and tell the story. In September, 1946, a friend brought Hub to Bluff View, out by Love Field, to see “The Hardy girls”. They came in and Hub looked around at all of us girls and pointed at Peggy and said “That one is mine”. We all went out to a place and got a cold drink. When they left our house, I (Peggy) told my sister Dorothy “That is the man (Hub) that I am going to marry.” That was September 3, 1946. We were married March 12, 1948. That was 66 years ago. Before Hub was interested in the SDA Church, someone asked Hub if he would help them visit SDA Church members and try to get them to sign a pledge to give a certain amount of money monthly. I don’t remember what the pledge was for. It could have been for the building of the gymnasium. Hub said he would help and did a good job. The SDA Church started having bible studies in small groups in homes. They used machines called “Save Machines”. The machine showed pictures and told the stories. Hub was asked to run one machine in a home close to our home. He said yes. He was learning about the truth of the SDA Church and loved all of it. Elder Forance Detamore was holding a tent meeting in Dallas and I asked Hub to take me. We had three small children and it is hard to keep them quiet. We sat on a blanket at the edge of the tent. At the end of the sermon they had an alter call. Hub said “I don’t want them bothering me”. In a few minutes he put the baby down on the blanket and walked down. I was so surprised – I thought he was leaving. He was baptized July 1956. He had to quit smoking and he did. When he quit he never smoked another cigarette. The Dallas First SDA Church was his in 1956. Hub lost his job because he would not work on the Sabbath. For a year he worked as a “temp” on the board of the composing room at the Dallas Morning News. He finally got on as a full-time worker with the Sabbath off. He worked there 31 years. He retired in 1990. A man Hub worked with at the Dallas Morning News asked him if he would take over a small food basket program he had. Hub did take it over. It was run by small donations from the workers at the News. He got very little money from the people so he decided to make it a large program. Hub was a client of a number of big businesses and started at Thanksgiving asking for donations. He got several thousand dollars. He went to our church and told them what he was doing. At first he only had one small (black) church way down in a very pool area. He went to visit them to see what their needs were. They needed “everything”. He checked with our Spanish churches and there are too many to write about. He would take his long flat bed trailer and go to warehouses for prices and get the best prices for potatoes, rice, beans, onions, cabbage, can food, fruit, etc. He would get 24 turkeys for special needs people. A week before Christmas he would take the food to the little True Purpose Baptist Church. He got a Christmas program together with a sermon, a singer, and many of our people would go-Jimmie Lou and Sylvia (her daughter) went. They fixed a little party at the little church. Hub would take them a turkey for sandwiches, punch, cooking, etc. After the service he gave the children a sack with fruit, candy, etc. then they would go for refreshments. In the 1960’s when Hub first started the basket program he would take his trailer and take care of delivering all the stuff along. He would get permission to use the market area to put the baskets together. It got too big so he had the food delivered by the warehouses to the individual churches. Later, he got permission from the church and school to put the baskets for our church together in the gym and have the older young people help. He thought it would be a good experience for the young folks. On Sabbath the whole service was honoring Hub for his dedication and service for the food basket program. Some of the ministers of the other churches came. One was from the little True Purpose Baptist Church. Hub always had a pocket full of gumballs for the children. They always came looking for him. One year the church had a reunion. Some of the children who use to get gumballs brought “their kids” with them. When they saw him they all asked for gum balls. He did not have any. Hub had a friend who was an electrician. He asked him to teach him the trade. The man did teach him. Hub in return has taught his three sons the trade. Hub used this knowledge to keep the lights going at the school, the gym, and inside the church and on the outside of the church. Hub helped Jim Anderson, associate pastor, to build the gym. Hub wired a new church for a man who started a church in his garage and it grew so big he decided to build a big church. Hub and son Bill prepared Hub’s mother for baptism, she was in her 80’s. She was a methodist. After lunch on Sabbath, Hub was always ready to take our children and their friends who came for lunch, out on a nature walk. They all loved it. Hub taught a Sabbath school class for a while. He didn’t enjoy this and someone else took over. Hub was a deacon for a while. He was a good one. Once after church, one of our members came to me and she said “When Hub passes me the plate I just swoon”. She was about 90 years old. Hub was an elder for a long time. He was First Elder for some time. He is still Elder Emeritis. Hub never wanted to miss a board meeting. He felt it was so important to be there. He was asked to be present at annointings a number of times. Many people were moved by Hub’s Sabbath prayers. One pastor wrote him a note when he finished the prayer and told him the prayer was very moving. Hub collected old pocket watches and at times he would wear 2 or 3 to church to show the children. Hub had a case pocket knife he always carried. He did not want anyone to touch it. Now, when he doesn’t know where he is, he will ask “Where is my pocket knife.” He also wants to know where the keys are to his pickup. He wants to go lock it up. He is not able to even get our of bed now.
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