Bob Hollingsworth

Bob energetically served his fellow man from a young age. As a child, he spent his mornings delivering papers to be a boy scout after school, and later worked construction in the summers to help support his family. That experience helped his assignment, when he enlisted in the Army at 18.

Bob was truly among that "Greatest Generation" of which Tom Brokaw wrote. Landing at Normandy shortly after D Day, his 1142nd combat engineers built bridges and reinforced pathways for tanks. The unit was hotly pursued by the enemy and they often slept in apple orchards, so bombers would not spot them, sleeping in shallow trenches they dug. In case a bomb fell nearby, its blast would pass over them. Unfortunately falling apples would often awaken them. They might find that the abandoned church they slept in a few nights before had been subsequently blown up. He reenlisted for an additional 3 years after the war. His tight knit unit has held annual reunions in North Carolina until recently.

Bob earned a degree in accounting at King's College in Raleigh, NC in 1948. He worked in insurance, banking and as a lobbyist in Austin. His passion for public service led him into leadership positions promoting Alamo Area Boy Scouts, Boys Clubs, Bexar County Tuberculosis Association, and the Bexar County American Red Cross as Chairman of Disaster Relief.

At age 33, Bob was named by the Texas Jaycees as one of its "Five Outstanding Young Texans of 1958" along with Dolph Briscoe, Jr. Fred Clark Chandler, Jr. Dan Krausse. and Van Cliburn who had just stunned the Russians by winning their Tchaikovsky piano competition. America needed a boost after our embarrassment over the Russian launch of its Sputnik satellite.

Soon thereafter, Keystone School was started to specialize in accelerated training for our top young minds. Bob encouraged his employer, E.M. Stevens' interest in Keystone in the 1960's. E.M. brought the first computer, Plato, to the school. Bob served on Keystone's Board of Directors from 1966-1991 and Chairman of the Board from 1982-1991. Both of his children, Patrice Hensley and Robert Jr. graduated from the school. He married Patricia Lundgren Hensley in 1960. They were long time members of First Presbyterian Church downtown. He also belonged to the Downtown Rotary Club, The K Club, Oak Hills Country Club where he could drive a golf ball like a pro. The family enjoyed boating and water skiing together.

In later days, he loved to drive all over Texas for dinner, especially to the Gruene River Grill, where he would pocket their green mints and pass them out to all he met, encouraging them to go there. I don't think they minded that. Most evenings they would drive downtown to see if the Alamo was still there. Most Saturday evenings, Bob and Pat made it home in time to watch Billy Graham. He truly embraced his life from beginning to end.

MEMORIAL SERVICE

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

1:00 P.M.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

404 NORTH ALAMO