Hollis D. Dye, age 88 of Nelson, passed away January 16, 2025, to go home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now absent from the body, no longer with us, but present and rejoicing with the Lord.
Hollis was born March 6, 1936, in Clarksburg, WV to Berlin and Mayme (Bragg) Dye and lived in Nelson, Ohio for more than 85 years. Hollis will be lovingly remembered and missed by his sons Gary and David (Candy), daughter-in-law Tina, grandchildren Jessica (Sam) Russell, Andrea (Chip) Simera, Tiffany Dye, Sean Dye, great grandchildren, brothers Berlin aka Darrell, sister Patricia Quiggle and many nieces & nephews. Hollis was proceeded in death by his parents and siblings Claudius aka Tom, Barbara Nottingham, Evie Hall-Cutsail, Eloise McCauley, Ronnie aka Mike and Dennis. He was also preceded in death by his wife of 66 years Doris (Klose) and by his sons Timothy Dye and James Dye.
Hollis was a Boy Scout and a graduate of Garrettsville High School. In his younger years, Hollis was a youth leader at Nelson Methodist Church, he liked to coon hunt, bowl and roller skate. He was a skilled ballroom skater (Foxtrot, Two Step, Moonlight Circle Waltz, etc.). In his later years, his wife Doris and he enjoyed traveling to Florida and country Line Dancing. Hollis liked to sing, yodel and listen to country & gospel music.
Hollis started his career working at General Refractories in Nelson (sand & gravel mining company) as a truck driver, while also working evenings hauling sand, gravel & topsoil with his truck. He then went to work at Harbison Walker in Windham (the Brickyard) as a delivery driver. From there he worked at Stamm Contracting in Mantua, where he started as a Cement Truck Driver and quickly moved into the position of Backhoe Operator and Construction Laborer.
Hollis’s real passion was recycling scrap metal (buying/selling scrap metal). He learned the scrap business from his father as a boy. Hollis bought/sold scrap part-time for many years, but at the age of 50 Hollis decided to follow his heart and passion, starting his own business working full time buying /selling scrap metals. It was exciting for him because he never knew what kind of equipment, machines and devices he’d encounter; one of them being a 20 ton furnace 8ft w x 8ft h x 40ft long at East Ohio Gas that required a semi to haul it to the scrap yard.
Hollis was outgoing, which made it easy for him to meet and get to know many people. If you ever went anywhere with him, he was always running into someone he knew, even in places least expected. Everyone seemed to know him and his truck. If you ever had the opportunity to ride with him, you would notice he was constantly waving back at oncoming traffic waving at him. He was blessed to have made so many friends over the years because of his business and his outgoing personality. His daily interaction with others was one of the things he missed the most once he was no longer able to go out and about in his truck.
Hollis was an active member of Faith Evangelical Free Church in Nelson, Ohio for over 50 years. If you knew Hollis or ever met him, you knew right away that he loved the Lord and his family because he wasn’t shy about sharing his faith or his love for his family. While not perfect, a sinner saved by grace, Hollis loved the Lord and would talk to anyone about Jesus’s love for us. And about the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross and His resurrection from the grave to defeat death. So that if we believe Jesus is the Son of God, confess our sins and receive Him in our heart, we will have eternal life with Him. In his last days Hollis urged family members to seek the Lord and accept Him as their Savior.
Hollis had a spirit of giving, he enjoyed helping others and never thought twice about making sacrifices for friends, family and strangers. He will forever be in our hearts and our memories, until we are able to join him in the presence of the Lord. He is loved & missed dearly!