John Ivor Hollenbeck's Obituary
John Ivor Hollenbeck, “Jack” was born in Columbus, Ohio and graduated from Upper Arlington High School where he was a star swimmer and track athlete for the Golden Bears. He went on to attend Davidson College in North Carolina where he joined the Sigma Xi fraternity, continued athletics, served in the ROTC and met his wife Caren Camicia (a student at Queens College in Charlotte).
They would return to Columbus where he would attend medical school at The Ohio State University and become interested in Surgery. He entered the General Surgery program at the University of Florida where he would develop a love for his surgical career and create many lifelong friends. After 2 years in the residency program at UF and shortly after the birth of their first child Cathy, Jack was called to serve in Vietnam in 1969. He spent over a year treating many trauma victims from the war. Later, he and Caren returned to Gainesville where their second child Scott was born in 1972, while Jack was finishing his training. Jack and Caren then moved back to North Carolina where Jack started his career with the Charlotte Surgical Group.
Jack was the consummate general surgeon performing a variety of services in his busy practice in the Charlotte community. Still, he would have the most impact in his career utilizing the skills he learned in Vietnam to manage trauma patients. He was critical in establishing helicopter service to Carolinas Medical Center and updating the trauma centers in Charlotte to manage a higher volume of more severely injured patients. He also served as the lead racetrack surgeon for the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the team surgeon for the Charlotte Hornets for a number of years in the 1980’s and 90’s. Jack did all this while being dedicated and involved with his family, especially his children’s extra-curricular sports activities.
He enjoyed playing golf, listening to Motown records and visiting the Rocky Mountains for skiing and fishing. He eventually retired and moved back to Gainesville with Caren where he would join the surgical faculty at UF. At the age of 70, Jack retired from surgery. He lived out his remaining 12 years with Caren in their home in Gainesville where he passed away on July 7th, 2025.
Jack is survived by his wife Caren, of Gainesville, Florida; his daughter Cathy Hollenbeck Martin and husband Dan and grandchildren Will and Audrey, of New York City; and his son Scott Thomas Hollenbeck and wife Julie and grandchildren Zeph and Charles of Charlottesville, Virginia.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made on Jack’s behalf to the Woodward Society at the University of Florida. https://surgery.med.ufl.edu/education/acute-care-surgery/woodward-society/
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