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Our friend Chic Hollis died
unexpectedly on January 12,
a very sad loss for his
lovely wife Gisela and family,
and just as sad for Chic's
NewsBlaze family.
We are missing him very much,
but his musings will live on
in NewsBlaze forever.
The Internet is an amazing
phenomenon that brings people
together in unexpected ways.
In April 2010, it was our good
fortune to have Chic Hollis find
NewsBlaze. We had published one
of his "musings" and he wrote to
us about the possibility of
contributing more.
Newsblaze editor, Judyth Piazza
had this to say about Chic, "I
first met Chic as an editor for
Newsblaze.com but as we got to
know one another better, we
traded stories about each other's
lives and future plans and it became
very clear that in many ways I was
following a trail that Chic had
already blazed for me. Whether it be
secret Air Force bases in Turkey or
desert adventures in faraway lands,
Chic and I were kindred spirits in
different times being guided by the
same light.
"I am devastated to hear about Chic's
death. Chic had been helping me as of
late with achieving some of my most
important goals and dreams. Chic had
became way more than a friend to me,
he was a mentor and a father figure.
Chic was that beacon of light that
kept me honest in the dirty world
of journalism.
We chatted every morning for months
on Yahoo Messenger....I miss him sooo
much. He gave me the motivation I
needed to tackle my day and the best
business advice that I have ever
received. I encouraged him to continue
writing because it inspired me and
many others. I am so very sad....I
just can't believe it.
Recently, there has been talk that
the Internet causes a disconnect in
society. For me, this is not true.
The Internet has helped me develop
friendships and forge bonds that
will last a lifetime. Even though
I never got the chance to meet Chic
in person, his words I will never
forget."
When we asked Chic for some information
for a bio, he sent a short letter that
told us a lot about him, and we can't
think of a better way to end this story
than to read about Chic, in his own words.
"I have been a drummer for 70 years
and a motorcyclist for 64. I was principal
drummer with the University of Michigan
Bands for three years and student business
manager of the bands for two.
When I was a member of the U of M Bands,
the Symphony Band played in Carnegie Hall
in NYC, Boston's Symphony Hall, and
Philadelphia's Academy of Music. I won
the General Electric Scholarship granted
by the School of Business Administration
for being first in my class. I later
played drums for amateur Broadway shows
in Argentina and Brazil.
Upon graduation I served two years as an
officer in the Air Force in North Africa
as Chief of Officer Personnel in the 17
Air Force Hqs. The Hqs. were first located
in Morocco and then in Libya. I have
worked for General Electric, Chrysler,
Volkswagen, and Bendix (now Honeywell.)
My assignments for Chrysler included
Director of Finance in Venezuela, in
Argentina, in Brazil, Deputy Managing
Director in Spain, and Managing Director
in Argentina. When Chrysler's Argentine
subsidiary was sold to Volkswagen, I was
offered and accepted a 3 year contract to
be head of Volkswagen Argentina. I lived
overseas 16 years and supervised foreign
subsidiaries another 6.
I returned to the US in 1983 and became
Group Vice President for Latin America
of Bendix Automotive responsible for
factories located in Mexico, Brazil,
and Argentina. I retired from Bendix
in 1988 and in 1992 became COO of a
California retail property management
company which managed 38 shopping
centers and malls in California.
I have been married 4 times and have
5 children born in 5 different
countries on four continents. I
consider myself a politically
independent citizen of the world
interested in helping Americans
understand the reality that is
life overseas where many intelligent,
educated, and industrious people
aren't as privileged as we are in
the US.
I've studied Latin and Greek in high
school, Russian at Michigan, and
French, Spanish, Portuguese, and
German during my working assignments.
Attached is a musing I recently wrote
which gives you some idea of my
current thinking. Since I am not
familiar with your editorial
philosophy, my writings may not be
what you are looking for today.
Nevertheless, I feel honored that
you have already published one of
my musings."
We miss you, Chic Hollis.
Chic's first published musing at
Newsblaze, "What is a 'Death Council?'
How Does It Function?"
Needless to say, we loved everything
Chic wrote. We were honored that he
shared his time, thoughts, energy and
wisdom with us, and we all miss him
very much. Thankfully, we have all his
musings and his photo to remember him.
To read more of Chic's musings: http://newsblaze.com/writer/holl.html
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