Anton Peter 'Holly' 'AP' Hollinger, 88
Anton Peter ‘Holly’ ‘AP’ Hollinger, 88
Anton Peter “Holly” “AP” Hollinger, 88, of Missoula, passed away Saturday evening Dec. 12, 2015, surrounded by his family, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
He was born in Gladstone, North Dakota, on Aug. 12, 1927, to Ignatz and Teresa Hollinger. He grew up with nine siblings on the family farm in North Dakota. The family moved to Butte. During the summer breaks he worked in the shipyards of Seattle.
After graduating from Butte High School in 1945, Holly enlisted in the Marines and served in China. After being honorably discharged, he returned to Missoula and attended the University of Montana, graduating in accounting in 1953. During college he worked welding the spillway gates on Hungry Horse Dam. After college he went to work for IBM in Great Falls selling office equipment, usually traveling 100,000 miles a year.
In Great Falls, he met the love of his life, Barbara Jean Hendricks, a spunky, redheaded first grade teacher. They married and soon thereafter son Scott was born in 1955, and in 1957 Mark followed. In 1965 he and a partner purchased Fish Lake, changed the name to Big Sky Lake and created, perhaps, the finest waterfront development in Montana. With his young family helping, he built a cozy cabin; words can’t describe the joy it brought his family. While at the cabin, Holly enjoyed exploring the surrounding mountains in search of mushrooms, playing cards and baking his legendary sourdough bread.
In 1971 the family moved to Missoula where he ran his real estate business, Hollinger Real Estate, helping many achieve their dream of owning a home or a cabin by the lake. Holly and Barbara enjoyed traveling to visit friends and family as well as wild adventures. One trip included being on a sailboat that became stranded in a small fishing village off the Baja coast of Mexico. There they befriended the local people and enjoyed fish taco lunches in the small school with the children.
After Barbara passed away in 1999, winters became too long and cold for Holly which led him to purchase a home in Sun City West, Arizona. Holly took advantage of the sunshine and spent many days golfing with his Arizona friends. When Parkinson’s became too challenging for Holly he returned to Missoula. Despite the disease he lived large, making telling jokes a regular occurrence at the Village Senior Residences. Holly adored playing cards, happy hour, creating mischief with his buddy Al and sharing meals with family and friends.
Holly was preceded in death by his parents, wife, and seven siblings.
He is survived by his son, Scott, and wife, Dia, of Bigfork; son, Mark, and wife, Jil, of Missoula; and five grandchildren Dane, Drew, Brooks, Christopher and Holly. He leaves a huge void in our lives. He is also survived by two sisters, Arlene and Art Brackebusch of Missoula, and Laverne Cornish of Billings.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 18, at the Missoula Country Club in Missoula.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of Missoula, 800 Kensington, No. 204, Missoula, MT 59801; Lutheran Social Services of Montana, 2429 Mission Way, Billings, MT 59102; or simply share a joke or doing something kind for someone in need.