Hollis Lanier Cate Sr.

The family will receive visitors at Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home in Brunswick on Thursday, October 5, 2023, at 10:30 am until the funeral service begins at 11:00 am in the chapel of Edo Miller. Interment will follow in Palmetto Cemetery with his seven grandsons—Gabriel Arries, Nathan Arries, Caleb Arries, Hollis Cate, III, Colin Cate, Mitchell Etheridge, Austin Etheridge—serving as pallbearers.

Born August 13, 1928, in Brunswick, Georgia, to the late Gustavus Vassa and Cecie Glendora G. Cate, Hollis was a 1947 graduate of Glynn Academy, the high school where he was a star athlete in football and track, and voted the Best-Looking Senior. He met the love of his life, fellow student Mary Boone. Hollis and Mary wed in 1950 and were married for 63 years before her death in 2013. In 1951, fully supported by a football scholarship as a half-back, he graduated from Presbyterian College in South Carolina. Between 1951-1953, he served in the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant during the Korean War, stationed in South Korea. In 1955, he began his long teaching career, initially as an English teacher at Pearson High School. He received his Masters’ degree (1957) and his Ph.D. (1962) in English from the University of Georgia. For the next three decades he was a popular professor and award-winning teacher at Northeast Louisiana State, Presbyterian College, and North Georgia University. He joined the faculty of Georgia Southern University in 1967, where he served as Head of the English Department, and retired in 1988.

For thirty-five years, Hollis enjoyed every day of his long retirement, first residing in Fernandina Beach, Florida with his wife Mary, where they entertained legions of children and great-grandchildren around bountiful tables laden with Georgia shrimp, fried chicken, and pound cakes. He was a published poet whose verses appeared in academic journals throughout his career; in retirement he self-published several books of poetry and frequently participated in public poetry readings. Hollis was well-known as a great wit and legendary storyteller who regaled his listeners—friends, family, whoever was fortunate enough to be in his orbit—with tales of growing up in 1930s and 1940s coastal Georgia, anecdotes about colorful locals from his wife’s hometown of Willacoochee, and memories of meeting luminaries in his world of American literature, Robert Frost and James Dickey, among them.

Hollis was a die-hard University of Georgia Bulldogs football fan, where he enthusiastically rooted for his team up until his death. In his younger days, he was an avid golfer, tennis player, and in college, a football and track and field star. But he was first and foremost a devoted family man who was never happier than when he was surrounded by dozens of loved ones, who adored him.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by five older brothers, Henry, Vassa, William, Neal, and George Cate, a younger sister, Margaret Cate Frady, and his wife, Mary Boone Cate.

Survivors include five children, Marcie Cate Lancaster of St. Simons Island, GA, Francie Cate of Richmond, VA, Hollis L. Cate, Jr, and wife Vicki of Warrenton, VA, Colleen Cate Etheridge and husband Charlie of St. Simons Island, GA, and Forrest Cate and wife Kim of Powder Springs, GA, fourteen grandchildren, thirteen great grandchildren and dozens of beloved nieces and nephews.

Those desiring my make a donation in Hollis Cate’s memory to the Marshes of Glynn Libraries. www.edomillerandsons.com