Hollis was born in Oklahoma. His family had a farm but times got hard and they left there and moved to California in 1916. His dad was not able to buy land, so he share cropped, in Blythe CA, Palo Verde CA and then they moved to Buttonwillow in Kern County California. He only went to 2 years of high school and then went to work on Oil Rigs in the Barkersfield area.
On March 14, 1942 he joined the U.S. Army, serving proudly until the end of the War reaching the rank of Sergeant.
After the war he traveled the world working on Oil Rigs, since that is what he loved and knew best. In 1947 he was in Paraguay and sent a picture to his Mom showing him and others holding a very large Anaconda. One time when he come back from being in Saudi Arabia, he told his kid sister that when he stepped on U.S. soil he knelt down and kissed the ground, saying he was so glad to be back to our land, see grass and trees and have temperatures that weren't just hot or cold. But even with that it didn't stop him from working in the oil fields over there. Know of 3 different times he worked over there. Man probably made more each time than most of us make in 5 years. Always had a good time from what I was told and blew it all!
He wasn't much of a letter writer or one to keep in touch. So his siblings usually only heard from him a couple of times a year, he would write to or call his mother more often than them. Most of the time they never knew where he would be. When his mother died in 1961, family was not able to reach him, so he didn't learn of her death for 6 months, when he called his oldest sister who lived in same town as his mother to find out why her phone was disconnected. Years later he was in San Fransisco for a while before going up to Washington. He kept mostly in touch with his older brother Ben. Though when he heard that his kid sister was ill in 1977, he wrote her a long nice letter.
Do not know if he knew he was ill at that time or not. Hollis died from lung cancer one year and one month to the day of his kid sister Verna Mae Barker Frisk death from the same type of cancer.
Hollis never married.
Link to his parents is noted.
He had seven siblings. They were:
Willie Maude "Bill" Barker Threewit Dekens (1902-1990)
Eva Lee Barker Bates (1904-1994)
Ben Earnest Barker (1907-1988)
Houston Albert Barker (1912-1912)
August Eugene Barker (1913-1983)
Verna Mae Barker Frisk (1916-1977)
Roy Laverne "John" Barker (1920-1945, WWII Pilot shot down over Germany.
On March 14, 1942 he joined the U.S. Army, serving proudly until the end of the War reaching the rank of Sergeant.
After the war he traveled the world working on Oil Rigs, since that is what he loved and knew best. In 1947 he was in Paraguay and sent a picture to his Mom showing him and others holding a very large Anaconda. One time when he come back from being in Saudi Arabia, he told his kid sister that when he stepped on U.S. soil he knelt down and kissed the ground, saying he was so glad to be back to our land, see grass and trees and have temperatures that weren't just hot or cold. But even with that it didn't stop him from working in the oil fields over there. Know of 3 different times he worked over there. Man probably made more each time than most of us make in 5 years. Always had a good time from what I was told and blew it all!
He wasn't much of a letter writer or one to keep in touch. So his siblings usually only heard from him a couple of times a year, he would write to or call his mother more often than them. Most of the time they never knew where he would be. When his mother died in 1961, family was not able to reach him, so he didn't learn of her death for 6 months, when he called his oldest sister who lived in same town as his mother to find out why her phone was disconnected. Years later he was in San Fransisco for a while before going up to Washington. He kept mostly in touch with his older brother Ben. Though when he heard that his kid sister was ill in 1977, he wrote her a long nice letter.
Do not know if he knew he was ill at that time or not. Hollis died from lung cancer one year and one month to the day of his kid sister Verna Mae Barker Frisk death from the same type of cancer.
Hollis never married.
Link to his parents is noted.
He had seven siblings. They were:
Willie Maude "Bill" Barker Threewit Dekens (1902-1990)
Eva Lee Barker Bates (1904-1994)
Ben Earnest Barker (1907-1988)
Houston Albert Barker (1912-1912)
August Eugene Barker (1913-1983)
Verna Mae Barker Frisk (1916-1977)
Roy Laverne "John" Barker (1920-1945, WWII Pilot shot down over Germany.
Hollis was born in Oklahoma. His family had a farm but times got hard and they left there and moved to California in 1916. His dad was not able to buy land, so he share cropped, in Blythe CA, Palo Verde CA and then they moved to Buttonwillow in Kern County California. He only went to 2 years of high school and then went to work on Oil Rigs in the Barkersfield area.
On March 14, 1942 he joined the U.S. Army, serving proudly until the end of the War reaching the rank of Sergeant.
After the war he traveled the world working on Oil Rigs, since that is what he loved and knew best. In 1947 he was in Paraguay and sent a picture to his Mom showing him and others holding a very large Anaconda. One time when he come back from being in Saudi Arabia, he told his kid sister that when he stepped on U.S. soil he knelt down and kissed the ground, saying he was so glad to be back to our land, see grass and trees and have temperatures that weren't just hot or cold. But even with that it didn't stop him from working in the oil fields over there. Know of 3 different times he worked over there. Man probably made more each time than most of us make in 5 years. Always had a good time from what I was told and blew it all!
He wasn't much of a letter writer or one to keep in touch. So his siblings usually only heard from him a couple of times a year, he would write to or call his mother more often than them. Most of the time they never knew where he would be. When his mother died in 1961, family was not able to reach him, so he didn't learn of her death for 6 months, when he called his oldest sister who lived in same town as his mother to find out why her phone was disconnected. Years later he was in San Fransisco for a while before going up to Washington. He kept mostly in touch with his older brother Ben. Though when he heard that his kid sister was ill in 1977, he wrote her a long nice letter.
Do not know if he knew he was ill at that time or not. Hollis died from lung cancer one year and one month to the day of his kid sister Verna Mae Barker Frisk death from the same type of cancer.
Hollis never married.
Link to his parents is noted.
He had seven siblings. They were:
Willie Maude "Bill" Barker Threewit Dekens (1902-1990)
Eva Lee Barker Bates (1904-1994)
Ben Earnest Barker (1907-1988)
Houston Albert Barker (1912-1912)
August Eugene Barker (1913-1983)
Verna Mae Barker Frisk (1916-1977)
Roy Laverne "John" Barker (1920-1945, WWII Pilot shot down over Germany.
On March 14, 1942 he joined the U.S. Army, serving proudly until the end of the War reaching the rank of Sergeant.
After the war he traveled the world working on Oil Rigs, since that is what he loved and knew best. In 1947 he was in Paraguay and sent a picture to his Mom showing him and others holding a very large Anaconda. One time when he come back from being in Saudi Arabia, he told his kid sister that when he stepped on U.S. soil he knelt down and kissed the ground, saying he was so glad to be back to our land, see grass and trees and have temperatures that weren't just hot or cold. But even with that it didn't stop him from working in the oil fields over there. Know of 3 different times he worked over there. Man probably made more each time than most of us make in 5 years. Always had a good time from what I was told and blew it all!
He wasn't much of a letter writer or one to keep in touch. So his siblings usually only heard from him a couple of times a year, he would write to or call his mother more often than them. Most of the time they never knew where he would be. When his mother died in 1961, family was not able to reach him, so he didn't learn of her death for 6 months, when he called his oldest sister who lived in same town as his mother to find out why her phone was disconnected. Years later he was in San Fransisco for a while before going up to Washington. He kept mostly in touch with his older brother Ben. Though when he heard that his kid sister was ill in 1977, he wrote her a long nice letter.
Do not know if he knew he was ill at that time or not. Hollis died from lung cancer one year and one month to the day of his kid sister Verna Mae Barker Frisk death from the same type of cancer.
Hollis never married.
Link to his parents is noted.
He had seven siblings. They were:
Willie Maude "Bill" Barker Threewit Dekens (1902-1990)
Eva Lee Barker Bates (1904-1994)
Ben Earnest Barker (1907-1988)
Houston Albert Barker (1912-1912)
August Eugene Barker (1913-1983)
Verna Mae Barker Frisk (1916-1977)
Roy Laverne "John" Barker (1920-1945, WWII Pilot shot down over Germany.
Inscription
Hollis R. Barker
SGT U S Army
World War II
1909-1978
Family Members
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