Friends and family honored the life of Colonel Joe Bryce Hollingsworth, a man who helped design the U.S. Air Force Academy and whose legacy will live on at the institution he helped create.
Hollingsworth was 93 years old when he passed away in March. His family laid him to rest at the Air Force Academy, fulfilling his final wish.
"He really felt like this was the place where his professional life gave meaning and his relationship with his country was founded and cemented," Scott Hollingsworth said.
To some, Hollingsworth was known as dad, to others as a friend or husband, and to many as the Air Force's chief architect.
"It was the ultimate experience in life in his profession as an architect and as a military officer," Scott Hollingsworth said.
Hollingsworth began his military career as a second lieutenant, becoming the seventh officer to report to the newly opened U.S. Air Force Academy in 1954. There, he was a visionary, assisting in authoring 82 design plans that became part of the academy's architectural master plan.
"He's shown an excellent example of how dedicated, consistent service is a good way of supporting your community and in his case the Air Force," Scott Hollingsworth said.
After more than 24 years of service, Hollingsworth finished his Air Force career as commander of the 44th Civil Engineering Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.
"When you look today at the pristine and the quality environment that you see at the academy, the care and the people that take care of it, their dedication to keep the quality and the spirit of that image of the academy alive, it's just fantastic," Scott Hollingsworth said.
