Dr. Owen J. Holyoak

Owen J. Holyoak, 91, passed away August 2, 2024, in West Haven, Utah. Owen was born on July 6, 1933, to Glen S and Grace Matheson Holyoak in Cedar City, Utah. He spent his childhood in Parowan, Utah, graduating from Parowan High School Class of 1951, and enjoyed his involvement in high school athletics and FFA.

He was involved in the family livelihood of sheep ranching from an early age, instilling a strong work ethic that he maintained throughout his life. He had many fond memories of his horse Mark, as well as his time spent in the mountains of Southern Utah tending to and herding sheep.

Owen served in the United States Army and was a veteran of the Korean War. Following his time deployed, he leveraged the GI Bill to resume his education at Utah State University earning his undergraduate and graduate degrees through USU, and later completed his doctorate degree through University of Iowa.

Owen married his first wife Nan McEachern in 1958 and lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, while teaching Junior High School Physical Education. Owen and Nan later moved to Iowa City, Iowa, before moving to Gainesville, Florida. Owen and Nan had two daughters, Stacey and Lori, and later divorced. In 1984 Owen married his second wife Christine Edwards, they later divorced. 

Owen began his employment with the University of Florida in 1966 as an assistant professor and served in a number of roles including Chairman of the Department of Physical Education. After 30 years Owen retired and was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus. He was actively involved in recruiting and mentoring many UF athletes, and worked closely with Coaches Pell, Spurrier, and Zook. He loved mentoring students and enjoyed staying in touch with many of them and celebrating their successes. Owen also enjoyed the opportunity to serve as President of the Board of Directors for Florida Special Olympics for many years. He was active in a number of professional organizations receiving honor awards from the Florida AHPERD, Southern District AHPERD, and the American Alliance for HPERD. In 1998 he received the AAHPERD Presidential Honor Award.

To say Owen was passionate about Florida Gator athletics would be an understatement – he loved Gator football, and looked forward to each season, and each home game with a childlike excitement and an analytical approach. He attended every home game during his entire career and throughout retirement until relocating to Utah. Additionally, he supported many other sports in Gator athletics including both men’s and women’s basketball, gymnastics, and women’s lacrosse and softball.

After his retirement from UF he spent summer months in Utah and loved to shuttle his grandsons and their friends to multiple football camps, merit badge camps, Golden Corral, and any ice cream store that they might pass, always telling them that when it comes to ice cream “It’s never too early, and it’s always too late”. 

In 2021, Owen made the Utah transition complete, relocating to West Haven, Utah, to be closer to family. He enjoyed his time in Utah residing with his daughter Lori, son-in-law Dave, and grandson Brock. He looked forward to any opportunity to spend time with his grandsons, siblings, and other family members, as well as numerous road trips and adventures with Brock. As hard as he tried, he could never quite enjoy winter in Utah and looked forward to receiving weather reports from his friends in Florida during the winter months.

He was excited to become “Great Grandpa Gator” earlier this year with the birth of his first great-granddaughter Bentley. Owen was extremely proud of his grandsons and granddaughter-in-laws, and was grateful for the opportunity to live near them for the past 3 years.

Owen is survived by his daughters, Stacey (Adam) Hurdman and Lori (Dave) Henderson; grandsons, Bailey (Courtney) Henderson, Briggs (Annie) Henderson, and Brock Henderson; and great-granddaughter, Bentley Henderson. He is also survived by his brother, Val Holyoak; sister, Winon (Michael) Hall; and numerous nieces and nephews who all feel like they were Uncle O’s favorite. He was preceded in death by his parents and sisters, Glenna Orton and Adele Evans.

 As a family, we would like to thank Dani and Rileigh from Symbii Home Health and Hospice, as well as the Lotus Park staff for the compassionate care provided to Owen during his final months. Owen’s life was a life well lived and his optimism was encouraging. His enthusiastic “Go Gators!” and random text emoji’s will be fondly remembered by his family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family would encourage contributions to the Dr. Owen J. Holyoak Endowed Scholarship, University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance.

A Celebration of Owen’s Life will be held on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at 6 p.m.at the Community Center at Lindquist’s Office Building, 3434 Washington Blvd.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Sunday, November 10, 2024, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Arredondo Cafe, 686 Museum Road, University of Florida, Gainsville, Florida.