George Robertson Hollington III was born on April 28, 1936 in Santa Monica, California
died peacefully on January 18, 2022 with his wife Margaret at his side, two days earlier
for their 60th wedding anniversary.
Although George was born in Santa Monica, he grew up mostly in West Los Angeles, few
Blocks from the UCLA campus. His childhood was largely uneventful but included living through
World War II wartime in Los Angeles where his father supported the war effort by working at
Douglas aircraft in Santa Monica. The most notable event in his childhood came after the war,
when his only sibling, Bruce, was born in February 1948. Bruce’s arrival provided George with it
plenty of convenient bullying opportunities that were later repaid by Bruce in his role as the jolly boy
Uncle of George’s easily impressionable teenage children.
He graduated from Los Angeles University High School in the spring of 1955, and although the
The concept of the “gap year” hadn’t been invented yet, so George and his friends got down to it
this path, with frequent trips to the beach, punctuated by occasional maintenance work on the
famous Santa Monica Ferris wheel. However, he soon tired of the fun and reversed course
Joined the United States Marine Corps as a reservist. He was trained as part of the Marines
a two-man crew operating the Browning Automatic Rifle. He returned to USMC camp
Pendleton was used extensively in the late 1950s and his service in the Marines became a central element
part of his life for the rest of his life.
In the late 1950s he divided his time between odd jobs in Los Angeles and Navy training
Camp Pendleton and a few semesters at Santa Monica City College. 1958 he did
found a job at Douglas Aircraft where his father had previously worked, which turned out to be for life.
To change. Although he was hired by Douglas to be a keyhole, he happened to be in the room
when the computer scientists in white coats debated the future of computers, with one opinion
that eventually less educated people would also learn to program. It was bet
George happily became the guinea pig of scientists and made a career – as possibly the only non-college
qualified computer programmer of his time – born.
In 1960 he left Douglas and moved up the coast to Naval Air Station Point Mugu, where he
initially worked as IT operations manager in the third shift for IT work
associated with the Pacific Missile Range. He moved to Ventura to be closer to Point Mugu,
which also proved life-changing when his landlord introduced him to Margaret Thomas
in March 1960. George was smitten, but her dating career would have to wait for that summer
since the Navy sent him back to Los Angeles for an IBM programming course
Spring.
George and Margaret dated from the summer of 1960 to 1961 and married in January
December 1962. Before the marriage, he had taken a job at a General Electric computer facility in New York
Santa Barbara, and the couple moved there after their honeymoon. The 1960s were happy
Time for George and young family, with continued employment with GE and family
grew with the addition of sons Steve in 1963 and Scott in 1965.
In the late 1960s the economy was struggling, as in the fall of 1969 when the Navy asked GE to do so
“borrow” them a veteran for classified anti-submarine computer work with the US Navy Ordinance
Lab on the East Coast, George jumped at the chance and moved his family to Maryland.
George enjoyed the role, but air travel was unusual and expensive at the time and for the family
was far from family and friends on the West Coast so he and family returned to GE and
Santa Barbara in the spring of 1971.
Unfortunately, by the early 1970s, GE had begun downsizing its Santa Barbara facility
presented an interesting dilemma – as a computer programmer, George had excellent skills
demand, but less so in the smaller towns he favored. A long combined geographic
Research and job hunting followed, culminating in his teaching at Idaho State
University in early 1972, and the rest of the family joined him after Pocatello in the spring.
Although he briefly left ISU for FMC, also at Pocatello, he eventually returned to ISU.
In the spring of 1983, after both sons graduated from high school, George moved to New York
Boise and began working for Idaho Power. He and the family – although both sons were away
in college during the school year – thrived in Boise and with Idaho Power since his role there
required extensive travel throughout the state he loved.
In Boise he was able to express his love for the state of Idaho and its many outdoor activities
new level. He was able to turn his Idaho Power business trip into leisure
reconnaissance missions to return to many lesser-known parts of the state in his spare time. A
As an active hiker, cyclist, skier, camper and backpacker, he experienced and photographed more
the state than most, with even the most remote locations often high on his list
Boise’s greenbelt was an urban favorite. Though viewed as a potential character flaw by
So the other California-born family members weren’t put off by the cold weather
an unavoidable part of the mountains of Idaho. He was undeterred by the freezing cold rivers
and Lakes in Idaho and very excited to introduce them to others including
unexpected swimming for sons and grandsons who failed to maintain adequate knowledge of it
his whereabouts.
Although George was largely self-taught, education was another of his priorities. He took
Advantage of his employment at ISU to take additional college courses and both sons
graduated with honors from Highland High School in Pocatello. Steve and Scott also succeeded
not only as the first family member to earn a college degree, Steve from the
University of Idaho and Scott from the University of Miami, but both also graduated
degrees, a source of pride and contentment for George. He was equally enthusiastic about both
Daughters-in-law had college degrees of their own and, surprisingly, were mostly unashamed
Diane graduated from Boise State.
With a potential Y2K computer programming debacle on the horizon, he retired from Idaho
Power in June 1999, which allowed him to become one of the busiest retirees of all time
pursued various hobbies and served others. Travelling, almost always to his sons’ homes
or to vacation destinations with their families, was also common, but he and Margaret travelled
internationally, with a 2006 pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Bosnia. Despite its good
he was known to despise cats, he loved all other animals, and his dogs knew the Boise Greenbelt well
when he was not volunteering with the Humane Society. He also honed his construction skills through
Worked for Homes for Veterans in Boise. He and Margaret were also active at
St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Boise, where he also pursued his interest in photography
into the occasional wedding photography gig.
Later retired and realizing that her home in Boise would eventually become a split level
Difficult to navigate in old age, he and Margaret decided the house had to be like this
sold, it offered the opportunity to move closer to one of the sons. They moved to St.
Augustine, Florida in 2015. His deteriorating health did not require higher levels of care
available in St. Augustine, so the couple late moved to nearby Jacksonville for one last time
2020, where they lived until his death.
His family was his other great joy, and though his and his parents preceded him in death
Brother Bruce, George is survived by his wife Margaret of almost 60 years; Sons Steve (& Diane)
from Oro Valley, Arizona and Scott (& Jeanne) from Vilano Beach, Florida; and four grandchildren
Andrew (& Anna) from Tempe, Arizona; Kevin on Vilano Beach; Brian in Minneapolis; and Ryan in
Oro Valley. Eventually, his grandson Andrew and his wife Anna also succeeded in introducing girls to themselves
the family, his twin great-granddaughters Kylie & Kinsley, in October 2021.
A funeral service will be held on Saturday, January 29 at 12 noon at St. John Paul II Catholic Church in
Jacksonville, and because of George and Margaret’s many friends across the country, it will be
streamed live on YouTube and recorded for those unable to attend in person. instead of flowers
Donations can be sent to Homes for Veterans or the Humane Society in Boise or to a local
Catholic community; Donations to an ongoing new church fund can also be made at George’s
Name of St. John Paul II Catholic Church in Jacksonville.
Posted by Craig Funeral Home on January 25, 2022.
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