Eugene Holloway Sr.

Eugene Holloway Sr., 75, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008, at his home.

He was born Dec. 9, 1932, in Cape Girardeau, son of Harvey E. and Edna B. Michael Holloway. He and Joyce M. Nichols were married Feb. 24, 1957, in Cape Girardeau.

Eugene "Papa" Holloway was a dedicated husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He faithfully followed his Lord Jesus Christ throughout his life and was always an inspiration to his family and friends.

Eugene Holloway Sr. started in the flooring business in 1948 at the age of 16. By September 1976 he developed the largest and most sought after installation crew in the Cape Girardeau market. He then opened Holloway Floor Covering and with his foresight, hard work and knowledge, Holloway Floor Covering (now Holloway Carpet One) has successfully seen three generations of family enjoy his dream.

He was a member and deacon at Lynwood Baptist Church, active with the youth, prayer chain team member, and faith ministry.

Survivors include his wife; four sons, H. Eugene (Marsha) Holloway Jr. of Cape Girardeau, David (Candy) Holloway of Flagstaff, Ariz., Kerry (Kelly) Holloway of Fayetteville, Ark., Lance (Lynne) Holloway of Jackson; a daughter, Valarie (Ted) Matthews of New Baltimore, Mich.; two brothers, Jerry Holloway of Tennessee, Jim Holloway of Scott City; two sisters, Mary Clubb of Cape Girardeau and Frances Turner of Millersville.

Also 13 grandchildren, Jared Holloway of Cape Girardeau, Megan Holloway of St. Louis, Dawn Holloway of Chicago, Dana and Roman Holloway, Eric and Jennifer Holloway, Steven and Sara Holloway, all of Flagstaff, Christina Matthews and Amanda Matthews of Cape Girardeau, Ryun Holloway, Kelsey Holloway and Casey Holloway of Fayetteville, Emily Holloway and Makenna Holloway of Jackson; and a great-grandchild, Rylee Holloway of Flagstaff.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home.

The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Lynwood Baptist Church, with the Rev. Gary Belcher officiating. Entombment will be in Cape County Memorial Park Mausoleum.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to Eugene Holloway Sr. Memorial Fund for Youth Ministries, c/o of Bank of Missouri.