Gary Hollister Sr, age 82, passed away with family by his side on February 11th, 2025. He will be dearly missed.
Gary was born in Mondovi, Wisconsin, to parents Forrest and Myrtle Hollister. He grew up in the Eau Claire area. Gary’s first wife was Mary Rice, and she is the mother of Carol and Connie. He is survived by his son Gary Hollister II of Kenosha, daughters Charlene Hollister of Salem, WI, Connie Ingersoll of Woodruff, SC, and Carol Custer of Flagpond, TN. In Kenosha in 1966, he met the love of his life, Karen Veasey. He then enlisted in the service and after boot camp, he entered OCS. He married Karen on September 9th, 1969, and moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where his daughter Charlene was born. The family was then relocated to Colorado, and then to Kenosha where his son Gary was born. He spent some time in Vietnam and was then stationed in Germany. He took his entire family with him, and they spent a few years there, before ultimately moving back to Kenosha where he enlisted in the National Guard. He stayed in this area for the rest of his life and met a lot of people that he was proud to call his friends.
Gary worked several jobs through the years, including VR Wesson, AMC, Brandwagon, and the McHenry Coin Shop. He retired in 2005 and spent the rest of his years with family and friends.
Gary was preceded in death by his wife Karen, his parents Forrest and Myrtle Hollister, and sisters Murial White and Margaret McGlaughlin.
He is further survived by his grandchildren Ken Ingersoll of Atlanta, GA, Nathan Ingersoll of Portland, OR, Josh Custer of Jonesborough, TN, Kristle Coli Promoter of Pound, WI, Chris Hollister of Kenosha, Nikki Hollister of Suring, WI, Stephen Kaye of Kenosha, and Jeremiah Perrault of Salem, WI.
The family would like to extend a very special thanks to Aurora At-Home Hospice for the excellent care during Gary’s final days.
