Joseph Hollist

J. Taylor Hollist

NOVEMBER 14, 1936 – NOVEMBER 7, 2020

Joseph Taylor Hollist died Saturday, November 7, 2020 at the Albany Medical Center after multiple complications following surgery. Taylor was born the oldest of 10 children to Jennie Brown and Orson LeRoy Hollist in Phoenix, Arizona on November 14, 1936. He was reared and educated in Utah; he received a BS from Utah State University and an MS plus at the University of Utah. In addition to his degree from Utah State, he also broke conference records in pole vaulting.

He married Suzanne Parker, his wife of 59 years, on June 21, 1961 in Logan, Utah. In 1966 they moved their young family to Oneonta, New York. He began his career as Assistant Professor of Mathematics where he taught until he retired in 2003. He often said, “There could never have been a better job for me.” The highlight of his career was being invited to present a paper on the graphic artist MC Escher at a conference in Rome, Italy.

An active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served in many leadership positions in the church. As a young man he served a proselyting mission in Texas and after retirement he and Suzanne served for a year in 2005-2006 in Nauvoo, Illinois, an historic city for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During his nearly 13 years as the Branch President of the Oneonta Branch, he found and secured the property and oversaw the building of the first phase of the Meetinghouse in West Oneonta. The service he enjoyed most was working with Boy Scout Troop 66 for over 20 years. He was able to help many young men achieve the rank of Eagle Scout and was himself awarded a Silver Beaver.

In his retirement, he pursued his interest in history, joined several historical societies and found great pleasure in wading through old documents and microfilm. He was interested in local characters, one infamous, another sterling. He also enjoyed researching early Mormon history along the Susquehanna River and in Nauvoo, Illinois.

Taylor was shaped by family and shaped another family. He was the oldest of ten children who grew up on a small family farm in Kaysville which met the family needs. They grew what they ate and they ate what they grew. They built, repaired and reused. Material possessions were not important; faith, love, hard work, service, and education were.

He carried those values into his own family. He was a kind, loving, supportive, and fun husband. He was a devoted father who cherished his seven children and found great joy of his seventeen grandchildren.  A man of faith, a man of service, a man of love, a man of honesty and a man without guile.

In addition to his parents, his younger sister Rella Mae Hollist Moyes predeceased him. He is survived by his wife Suzanne, his seven children and their spouses, Anne and Ryoichi Suzuki of Logan, Utah, Larry and Laurie Hollist of San Jose, California, Jennie and Michael Polizzotto of Rockford, Illinois, Joseph and Suzan Hollist of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kaylynn and Michael Spencer of Loves Park, Illinois, Jonathan and Mary Hollist of San Jacinto, California, Martha and Chris Kilpack, of Baltimore, Maryland and seventeen grandchildren. He is also survived by eight siblings and their spouses, Dawnell and David Tingey of Oregon, Martha and Craig Rushforth, Nancy and Vance Pace, Robert and Elna Hollist, Alice and Gerald Giauque, Jeff and Carla Hollist,Rand and Marla Hollist, Jolynn and Chuck Bean, and brother-in-law William Moyes all of Utah.

If desired, donations may be made in the name of J. Taylor Hollist to the Greater Oneonta Historical Society or the Humanitarian Fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Burial will be at the Hooper, Utah, Cemetery Thursday, November 19th at 2 p.m.  Due to Covid-19, attendance is limited to family members. A livestream broadcast will be on this webpage underneath this obituary. Arrangements in Oneonta, New York by Lester R. Grummon’s Funeral Home. Utah arrangements entrusted to Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary.

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