Hollis L. Miner

Hollis L. Miner died Thursday, May 25, at his West Branch home, surrounded by his wife and three daughters after a courageous 2 1/2 year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 69. Hollis was born on April 16, 1937, in Hillsdale, Mich., the son of Hollis and Helen Miner. After graduating from West Branch High School in 1956, Hollis worked briefly for General Motors, then joined the U.S. Army and proudly served as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne, based in Fort Campbell, Ky. After his discharge, Hollis began repairing cars, and in 1962 he built his own one-man collision shop on Second Street in West Branch, where he straightened fenders, painted hoods and bumped out door panels for 44 years...barely even pausing for his cancer treatment. He married Mary Martin in 1963 and they raised three daughters. Hollis lived his life with amazing perspective, a positive attitude, an impressive work ethic, a sharp sense of humor and an appreciation for simple things. His life was rich with family and friends, fishing trips, camping excursions, weekends with his grandkids, seasons at deer camp, bowling leagues, years of volunteer work for Girl Scout Camp Wigwah, summers at Lost Valley Campground, parties on Sage Lake and a multitude of fix-it, build-it, make-it-shine projects. He was a member of First United Methodist Church. Hollis is survived by his wife, Mary; his sister, Barbara (Robert) Nicolini, of Clearwater, Fla., and his brother, Donald (Bonita) Miner of West Branch; three daughters, Betsy Miner (Robin Swartz) of Lansing, Holly Furgeson of Petoskey and Amy Covault (Mark Koch) of Clarkston; and two grandchildren, Madison and Joshua Covault of Clarkston. In addition, he is survived by brothers-in-law Richard (Dorene) Martin of Midland, Brian (Arlene) Martin of West Branch and Arthur Morrison of San Francisco; several nieces and nephews and a host of loyal buddies. Hollis was preceded in death by his parents, former West Branch High School principal Hollis W. Miner in 1998 and Helen Miner in December 2005. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Helping Hands in West Branch, the First United Methodist Church of West Branch or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Visitation will be held from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, May 27, and 1-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Sunday, May 28, at Steuernol & McLaren Funeral Home, 109 E. Houghton Ave. in West Branch. The funeral service is at 11:00 a.m. Monday, May 29, at First United Methodist Church, 2490 W. State Road in West Branch.