John L Hollinger was born in Toledo Ohio, May 12, 1928, to Kathryn Bartlett Hollinger and Carlton Hollinger. When he was a young child in Northern Ohio, he was primarily raised by his maternal Grandmother and Grandfather, Grandma and Grandpa Bartlett. His mom was a single mom by then and had to work. He was given the nickname Jackie as a toddler, and Jack stuck for the rest of his life.
Jack attended North Ridgeville High School, a very small school. He played on the high school football team and due to a shortage of players, he played both offense and defense.
After high school Jack met and married Barbara Braegger on March 25, 1950. During this time in the early 1950’s Jack was involved in auto racing around the northern Ohio area.
Jack and Barbara had five children, Della Kay, John David, Dennis Lee, Mark Alan and Michael Rex. Nine Grandchildren call Jack Grandpa.
After the babies, Jack and Barbara took up archery. They both enjoyed the skill and patience required to shoot bows and arrows. They were both quite accomplished at it.
In 1965 a better job offer in Binghamton, New York caused the family to relocate. Jack’s new employer, RMS Motors was a gear motor manufacturer. His position at RMS honed his gear motor skills nicely for his future endeavors. The family home was in the country on top of a mountain and offered a spectacular view of the surrounding valleys and hills.
Once again a better job offer presented itself to Jack so the family was off again. Miami, Florida was the destination in 1969. The new position was with a company named Mec-O-Matic. They built chemical pumps and wanted to develop their own line of motors to run their pumps. When Mec-O-Matic was purchased by a company that wanted to move them to Minnesota, Jack said no way to the cold weather and stayed in Miami. At this time Jack started Rex Engineering in Miami in 1974. It was initially a 5 person, family owned, gear motor company.
After 20 years in Miami, the hustle and bustle of a rapidly expanding city caused Jack to seek greener pastures once again. He moved Rex Engineering to Titusville, Florida in 1994. Today it has grown to employ 65 people. He truly loved the slower pace and easy access to the Indian River.
In 1998 Jack married Yasuko Hartley after meeting her at a bridge table at the Titusville senior center. They have been together for over 20 years.
Jack loved the water, fishing and outdoors. He moved to a house on the Banana River directly across from Patrick Airforce base. A perfect day for him was a ride in his boat exploring the Banana River near his home. Manatee and dolphin watching, as well as excellent fishing were enjoyed by Jack right off of his dock.
Even at 90 years, and as Jack’s health began to take a toll on his body, he was driven to the office usually three times per week so that he could tinker with designs and motors. His last day at the office was Wednesday, January 2nd. His Spirit will linger with us forever. A kind man with a Big Heart that touched so many.
There will be a visitation held from 2-4pm on Sunday, January 13 at the Life Event Center at Florida Memorial in Rockledge, followed by a memorial service at 4pm.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the SPCA.
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