15 December 1948 – 29 February 2024

Hollis A. St. Germain, 75, of Bristol, beloved husband of Marianne (Calcott) St. Germain and widower of Patricia (O’Connor) St. Germain, died on Thursday (February 29, 2024) at John Dempsey Hospital, Farmington.
Hollis was born on December 15, 1948 in Burlington, VT and was a son of the late Melvin and Doris (Gingras) St. Germain.
He moved to Bristol at an early age where he graduated from Bristol Eastern High School. He was drafted to serve in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. He was trained as a jet engine mechanic which tuned into a 20-year career with the Air Force retiring as a Technical Sergeant in 1989.
He enjoyed Legos and model cars.
In addition to his wife, Hollis is survived by three children: Quintina St. Germain of Bristol, Quentin St. Germain and his wife, Amy of Bristol, and Elizabeth Butler and husband, Gary of Thomaston; his brother, Mark St. Germain and his wife Gloria, of Florida; nine grandchildren: Daveed, Christopher, Collin, Alexander, Kelsie, Amilia, Victoria, Alexander, and Kellie; and nieces and nephews. Relatives and friends may call at Funk Funeral Home, 35 Bellevue Ave., Bristol, on Monday, March 11, 2024 between 5 and 7 PM and Tuesday, March 12, 2024 between 5 and 7 PM. An Air Force military honors graveside service will be held on Thursday, March 14, 2024, at 1 PM at St. Joseph Cemetery, Bristol. Please visit Hollis’ memorial web-site at www.FunkFuneralHome.com.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Hollis A. St. Germain, please visit the Funk Funeral Home floral store.

**Editor, Connecticut Veterans Bulletin**

I am not a veteran. I am a member of the Civil Air Patrol, the United States Air Force Auxiliary. But in 1991, personal loss brought me to a place I never left.

Over two decades later, that loss led me to the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, Connecticut, where I took on the coordination of Wreaths Across America — which grew into the largest and fastest growing veterans program in the state. I didn’t do it for recognition. I did it for them.

In 2016 I founded the Connecticut Veterans Bulletin. Not because I served, but because I believe those who did deserve to be honored, connected, and kept alive.

Twenty-two veterans die by suicide every day. I knew about that number before it became a hashtag. I knew it personally, long before anyone was talking about it.

This publication exists because that number is unacceptable. Because every veteran in Connecticut deserves to know someone gives a damn.

That someone is me.