Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - November 29, 2007
Trevor Jensen, ttjensen@tribune.com
Mr. Hollins, 42, of Hazel Crest died Sunday, Nov. 25, in Stroger Hospital, said his mother, Bertha. He had complained of abdominal pains before going to the hospital, but she could not give additional information on the cause of death, she said.
Mr. Hollins was among the leaders of the HIV/AIDS support ministry at Trinity United Church of Christ in the Brainerd neighborhood on the South Side, where he was on track to become an ordained minister. He received a master of divinity degree from the Chicago Theological Seminary in 2006.
Through the ministry, Mr. Hollins, who had been diagnosed as HIV positive, gave presentations to groups of South Side pastors in an effort to spread the word on the disease's impact in the African-American community. Church members also volunteer in hospital AIDS units and sponsor workshops to discuss the disease.
Mr. Hollins grew up on the South Side and was a self-possessed little boy -- "an old soul," his mother called him. He'd get up before the rest of the family when he was 6 to walk to Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church, where he was an altar boy, to help prepare for morning mass, his mother said.
The family later moved to Matteson and Mr. Hollins attended Rich South High School, where he was active in theater and choreographed a student production of "West Side Story."
After high school, he attended Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., to study pastrymaking, his mother said. But the proximity to New York drew him back to theater and dancing, and after about a year "he discovered he didn't want to be a pastry chef," his mother said.
Mr. Hollins, who was a dancer since 15 and who worked with the Giordano Dance Company, formed the New Life Performance Company for young dancers in Chicago. He also headed a dance ministry at his church.
Mr. Hollins is also survived by his father, Arthur; three brothers, Andrel, Arthur Jr. and Aaron; and two sisters, Sasha and Kasie.
Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, with services at 11 a.m., in Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 W. 95th St.
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