Joe Hollenback

Joseph (Joe) Hollenback Sr. gave his last handshake on November 5, 2022 at the age of 84. Joe was born in Melbourne, Florida and, with the exception of one enlistment in the Army, lived most of his life in Cocoa, probably because anywhere north of Brevard County was just too darned cold.Joe was a family man, he is survived by his wife Sharon, by their combined-together family of 5 children, Joey, Brian, Jeff, Shalerie, and Daron, by 9 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. And isn't that enough birthdays for any man to try to remember? He was a master electrician, a union member for more than 55 years, a spirited advocate for the cause of organized labor, and a well known lunch-time trickster (which many of his work buddies will tell you about if you give them half a chance). Dedicated to his craft and to enjoyment of life, if you were on the job site with Joe he could teach you, prank you and mentor you all in the same day.

Joe loved the outdoors, owned a few boats at different times and enjoyed fishing for many years, as well as being a lifetime NRA member and an accomplished competition shooter. Locally he was a member, an instructor and a range officer at gun clubs here in Brevard, contributing to a community and a cause he believed in. Despite this love of the outdoors he seemed to harbor a mysterious grudge against his yard that none of us could ever figure out, mowing his grass often and ferociously. We think maybe the yard insulted him one time and he never forgave it. Also shrubs, if you were a shrub growing in Joe's yard you were living on borrowed time, the grim mower was coming for you too.

He was also 'a car guy', someone who loved every brand of car you can name as long as that brand was "Ford". Over the years there were a few of them, a Ford coupe, Ford sedan, Ford pickup, Ford van, Ford SUV... we're talking about a man who owned not just one, but two different 1966 Ford Mustangs in recent years. We, his family, believe in celebrating his life but I'll tell you who's in mourning, the Ford dealership, that's who.

In addition to all of these interests and accomplishments, Joe was a real dog person. After he succeeded in ushering the last of his kids out the door and into adulthood he adopted a series of dogs that each in turn became his constant companion. He has been described by Shalerie as "The Ambassador of Cocoa Village". Many people knew Joe and his dogs, even when they didn't know his name, from his many years of walking the dogs around the village. He was always ready to share a smile, a conversation, and some dog petting during their walks.

He was also a private person, with people from one area of his life often not knowing about his other hobbies and passions. In truth, he would probably be giving us a stern look over the top of his reading glasses if he knew how much we're telling you about him. But no matter how you knew Joe, from work, from fishing, from shooting, from cars or from dogs, we hope you'll join us at a memorial and celebration of his life.

A memorial service for Joe will be held Saturday, November 19, 2022 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Rockledge Presbyterian Church, 921 Rockledge Dr., Rockledge, FL 32955.

Following the memorial service will be a reception at 2:00 PM in the social hall of Rockledge Presbyterian.

No flowers please. If you want to do something to honor Joe's memory, as much as he enjoyed giving and receiving flowers of all varieties, he would prefer a donation to one of his passions below:

1) IBEW Local 606 Death Benefit Fund

Contact: Jan Sullivan, 407-896-4733

2) Canine Star Training Academy www.caninestartrainingacacemy.com 321-266-3531

3815 N. US Hwy 1, Suite 119, Cocoa, FL 32926

[email protected]