Timothy Hanlon Hollingsworth

Timothy Hanlon Hollingsworth was a modest man, quiet and observant in his ways. He was trustworthy and traditional in his approach to his life and in his relationships. He was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew him. He was also a man who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything he undertook. Realistic about life, he was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Timothy was born on November 27, 1944 at San Jose Hospital in San Jose, California. His parents were Norman and Lillian Hollingsworth. Timothy was raised in San Jose, California. He was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

Growing up in the Hollingsworth household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Timothy was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and he was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Timothy was raised with one sibling. He had an older brother, Fred Hollingsworth. Timothy and his brother may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Timothy was always consistently loyal to his family.

As a young child, Timothy was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t pushy and never forced his way into games or other activities. Timothy developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. As a child, Timothy was involved with the Order of DeMolay. However, what Timothy enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with his many friends.

While his teachers and even his friends generally thought of Timothy as being a serious person, he managed to have a pretty good time in high school as he made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. He graduated from Willow Glen High School in 1952. He enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. His favorite class in high school was Autoshop. Timothy was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using his exceptional memory, he was able to learn much through observation. Timothy always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though he could easily master any problem that might be presented to him.

College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but Timothy handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Timothy was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete his class work. He seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down his classmates. Timothy was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed his fellow classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served Timothy well during his college experience and helped earn him an A.A. degree.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Timothy was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during his life. Since he disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw his own conclusions based on direct observation, Timothy was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew him. He was committed to his friends and valued the trust he placed in them. It was not uncommon for Timothy to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought him out for advice because he had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. Later in life, he became friends with Rich Stegeman, Bob and Joyce Doyle, Chuck and Chris Walter, and John and Janine Peichoto.

On April 2, 1966 Timothy exchanged wedding vows with Marcia Ellen Hollingsworth at the St. Paul's Methodist Church of San Jose, California. Compassionate and devoted to Marcia, Timothy held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Marcia and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy.

Timothy brought the same traditional values in his marriage to bear on how he raised his children. He was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in his dealings. He would always listen carefully and think things through before he acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Timothy was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Timothy was blessed with two daughters, Cyndi and Jennifer. He was also blessed with four grandchildren, Deric Cunha, Nicole Cunha, Jacob Wehling, and Isaac Wehling.

Timothy greatly enjoyed what he did for a living. He was a hard worker who expected the same in return from his co-workers. He was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Timothy enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Timothy was excellent at meeting deadlines. He was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. His primary occupation was as an engineer and manager. He was employed for 25 years. Timothy worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Timothy liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into his hobbies, where he was very methodical in how he organized his activities and categorized things. Since he enjoyed his private time, Timothy always tried to allocate a specific time for working on his hobbies. His favorite pursuits were building model cars and puzzles. Timothy was content to enjoy his hobbies alone but was also willing to share his interests with others.

Timothy found pleasure in sports. Being a person who was comfortable making win/lose decisions throughout life, he could appreciate that athletes made those types of decisions in sports. He applauded those who won, and he enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find himself wrapped up in those details. He would watch his favorite sporting events whenever he got the opportunity. Tops on his list were football (49ers).

Many organizations were grateful to have Timothy as a member, since he always brought with him a “stick to it” attitude and a high degree of common sense. Using straightforward methods to successfully complete the job, Timothy was a great planner who was incredibly well organized. It seemed that he was able to schedule any event or activity with ease. He always seemed to know exactly what needed to be done. Throughout his later years, Timothy was an active member of the Masons and was very involved with the Rainbow Girls for his daughters.

Timothy enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since he was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Timothy appeared effortless. He enjoyed researching all of his examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where he traveled, Timothy always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. As a child, he vacationed with his family in Yosemite and Lake Tahoe a lot. As an adult, he traveled with Marcia to all different places.

Timothy was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. One of Timothy’s favorites was Tasha, an Australian German Shepherd dog. They were best friends for 13 years. His family was rounded out by his other dog named, Gretchen.

When Timothy’s retirement finally arrived in 1990, he was well prepared. He always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things he knew, so he was very confident in planning his retirement. He had begun the process early and had his retirement all laid out well in advance. In retirement, he found new pleasure in golf and traveling. Even in retirement, Timothy continued to stay in touch with his old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. He was active in his new community and felt fulfilled.

Timothy Hanlon Hollingsworth passed away on May 9, 2014 at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California. He passed away from Diabetes, which he had for 62 years, and MS, which he had for 27 years. He is survived by his wife Marcia; his children Cyndi and Jennifer; his son-in-law Tim Wehling; and his grandchildren Deric, Nicole, Jacob, and Isaac. Services were held at Oak Hill Funeral Home in the Chapel of Roses in San Jose, California. Timothy was laid to rest in Oak Hill Memorial Park in San Jose, California.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Timothy Hanlon Hollingsworth. He was committed to living the life of a good man who was both practical and trustworthy. He was committed to the traditional values that he upheld his entire life. He committed himself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around him. Most of all, he was committed to those he knew and loved.