GC Hollowwa
GC Hollowwa of Albuquerque passed away February 20, 2018 at the age of 97. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Barbara; two sisters, Josephine Bridges and Naomi Hollowwa; his three sons, Kerwin and wife, Carol of Albuquerque, Chris and wife, Jean of Albuquerque, and John of Longmont, CO; and daughter, Barbara and husband, Wesley of Tatum, NM. He was the proud grandfather of Sara, Sean, Connor, Marissa, Taylor, and Lauren, and the proud great-grandfather of Charlie, Henry, Peter, Katherine, and Caroline.
GC was born in1920 in Denton, TX. He attended college at Texas State Teachers College (now North Texas University) where he majored in physics. He put himself through college as a licensed engineer at radio station KDNT in Denton, TX, and then volunteered for the Army Air Corp when war erupted with Japan. His first job after enlisting was equipping new aircraft with radar and navigational equipment. GC quickly rose to shift foreman due to his prior electronic experience. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, then assigned to Yale University’s radar school. He later taught this new top secret radar technology to military personnel at Yale. GC was assigned to the 509th Composite Group and trained to arm atomic bombs. He was then assigned to Wendover, UT with the Special Engineer Detachment under the auspices of Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Manhattan Project. He assisted in assembly of atomic bombs for testing purposes. GC’s bombardier squadron was scheduled to travel to Asia to participate in the bombing of Japan, but the end of the war made this unnecessary. After his discharge, GC began work at Sandia National Labs where he remained for 41 years. In 1949 he married Barbara Connors, who also worked at the Labs. GC was an IT expert, and in retirement assisted the Red Cross in Albuquerque and also taught computer classes at the Highland Senior Center. One of GC’s lifelong passions was horticulture which led him to construct a permanent greenhouse in his back yard. He was a member of the Iris Society and an avid hybridizer of iris and dahlia plants. He received many blue ribbons at state fair flower shows.
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, February 24, 2018, 10:00 a.m. at FRENCH – University. GC will be interred in the Santa Fe National Cemetery at a later date. The family would like to express special thanks to the nurses and caregivers from Legacy Healthcare and Elmcroft Senior Living. The family requests donations to the Red Cross in lieu of flowers. "He was a man upon whom we could depend." Please visit the online guestbook for GC at www.frenchfunerals.com
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