Robert Taylor Holloway, Jr.

Robert Taylor Holloway, Jr, 72, of Poquoson, Virginia passed away on January 23, 2026. A lifelong resident of Poquoson, Robert was born on October 10, 1953, to the late Robert Taylor Holloway, Sr and Lillie Mae Holloway.

Robert began his lifelong service to others at Poquoson High School where he was a bus safety patrol, and after graduating in 1972, he went to work briefly for a brick mason contractor at NASA and joined the Poquoson Volunteer Fire Company as an apprentice. In 1975, he began his career in his beloved hometown of Poquoson (Bull Island) when he accepted a position offered to him as a paid firefighter (Engineer) for what was then the Town of Poquoson, by the Town Manager, General George W. Dickerson. He served the citizens of Poquoson for over 48 years, moving through the ranks of the department and retired as Chief in May of 2023, after serving in that position for 16 years.

During his career, he took continuing education and earned his EMT-B, Fire Officer 1, Fire Inspector, Fire Instructor 1, Hazmat Certification, FEMA Certification, Commonwealth of Virginia State Board of Housing & Community Development Certified Fire Official and he was a member of the International Code Council, NFPA and The International Fire Chiefs Association.

After the second fire station was constructed in 2000, he advocated for and received an automatic mutual aid system between Poquoson, York County and Hampton and enhanced already existing mutual aid agreements.

Under his direction, equipment was upgraded including mobile data terminals were installed in emergency vehicles, Marine 1, a new fire boat was purchased with a grant as well as an airboat. One of his most significant achievements was his efforts to boost Poquoson’s ISO fire rating, a rating from the Insurance Services Office that reflects the fire safety of a given community and can result in lower homeowners’ insurance for residents. Poquoson’s rating was reduced from four to two, which lowered homeowners’ insurance for its citizens.

During the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel in 2003, he helped hand out supplies to citizens in need. He rode around with then Gov. Mark Warner surveying the damage. He saw friends and neighbors in their 70’s and 80’s who had lived in Poquoson all their lives and were just grateful for a bag of ice or a few cleaning supplies. He was heartbroken.

He expected excellence from his staff in their work but was also their biggest cheerleader. He had an open-door policy and was fair and genuinely wanted each one to do good in their career and fought for them on many occasions when needed.

Even in his spare time, Robert continued his service to others. He had been a member of the Poquoson Exchange Club and served as President, he also served as President of the Poquoson Historical Commission for many years and was a Charter Member of the Poquoson Historical Museum where he served on the Board of Directors for almost a decade. Robert, as a descendant of the Holloways that first settled in Poquoson in the 17th century, had a love for genealogy and was extremely knowledgeable of many of the Bull Island family lines. Once he learned it, he never forgot it and could pull dates from his head without missing a beat. He spent many hours in Yorktown and Richmond going through the historical files and documents in their vaults to learn all details that were available. One of his goals in life was to learn something new every day, whether it was the definition of a new word or something about a place or person he knew nothing about. He taught himself to speak Gaelic and Old English both of which he loved.

Robert had a love for both luxury cars and classic vehicles. Over the years he bought many of both and enjoyed each one. He also loved country music and had no previous musical training but was able to teach himself to play the guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, banjo, and keyboard, all by ear.

He loved to travel and seemed to favor Nashville and the OBX of North Carolina. Many hours were spent in the Alligator River Wildlife Refuge riding around searching for black bears, red and grey wolves, alligators and many other species of animals and birds or on the beach in Cordova looking for wild ponies, A stop at Basnight’s Lone Cedar for his favorite She-Crab soup was one of the trip’s highlights. Nashville was where he had the opportunity to see over 150 country stars at concerts and meet many in person at events, ranging from large stadiums to little side street bars.

In addition to his parents, Robert was reunited in Heaven with his brother James (Boze) Holloway. Robert is survived by his wife and soulmate of 46 years, Diane Holloway, son Robert Taylor Holloway, III, Sisters-in- law Katie Dirks (Brandon), Melissa Houck (Darren), and Amanda Bybee (Todd). Nephew John Holloway (Julia), Niece Samantha Voegtly (Logan), Niece Kenzie Dirks, Nephew Baxter Dirks, Nephew Miles Houck and Niece Libby Houck and two great nephews.

Visitation will be held at 1:30 pm on February 21st at Trinity United Methodist Church in Poquoson, followed by a Celebration of Life at 2:30pm followed by a reception in the multipurpose room of the church from 3:30pm-5pm. The burial will take place at Weston Cemetery at a later date

He was a loyal friend, a good neighbor, a loving husband, and father. He will be missed!

Arrangements and heartfelt guidance through Claytor Rollins Funeral Home.

Online condolences to claytorrollins.com

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