Mr. Eddie Joe Hoelyfield, Sr., 83, of Elkhart, passed away peacefully of natural causes at Creekside Village in Granger on Wednesday, January 10, 2023 at 12:38 pm.

He was born on January 13, 1940 in Hope, Arkansas to the late Wilbur and Beolar (Brown) Hoelyfield and was the loving husband of Sharon (Bryson) Hoelyfield, who survives Eddie at home.

Eddie is also survived by his children Tyrone R. Hoelyfield of Columbus, Ohio, Galvin Hoelyfield of Columbus, Yvette J. Hoelyfield of Columbus, Eddie J. (Heather) Hoelyfield, Jr. of Elkhart, Yvonne J. Hoelyfield of Elkhart and Yolanda J. (James) Lewis of Chicago, Illinois; step-children Mairus (Ashley) Halliburton, Tyrice Halliburton, Sondario (Deresha) Halliburton and Chris (Jammie) Bryson; all of Elkhart; grandchildren Dominiece, Tyrone, Cody, Jazzmin and Jo'von Hoelyfield and A.J., Josiah and Jaiden Lewis; step-grandchildren Alexius and Aaliyah Halliburton, Mikayla Andrews, Emily Stout, Alicia Wills, Kaydriana Bryson, Imari Wills, Tristan Bryson, Izayah, Isabella and Malachai Wingard, Sontrez and Josiah Halliburton and Jesenia and Efrain Salas; great grandchildren Carter J. and Presley Hoelyfield and step great grandchildren Darius, Vayda, Angel and Zulia Salas. Eddie is also survived by a host of extended family and good friends, including childhood buddy Melvin Moore, who he's known since grade school, and Lee Harris and Randy and Cindy Brunt. Eddie was preceded in death by his previous spouse LaDonne (Taylor) Hoelyfield.

In accordance with Eddie's wishes, cremation has taken place with a memorial gathering of family and friends to be held at Billings Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Elkhart on Saturday, January 20, 2024 from 2-4 pm.

Eddie worked for many years at the Gunnite Corporation in Elkhart as a superintendent of supervisors.

Aside from work, though, his three loves were his yard, BBQing and cars: probably in that order. His yard was meticulous, and he spent much time puttering about making sure things were trimmed, watered and swept up. The family would always laugh that he spent the rest of his time monitoring the yard for "unauthorized intruders" on his golf course quality grass.

He was also quite a cook and could BBQ up a pork shoulder like nobody's business. It was agreed, though, that Eddie really did know his way around the kitchen, and nobody ever left his table hungry. He was never afraid to try something new, different or complicated and loved to showcase his talent at the BBQ when he had the chance.

Finally, it was agreed that Eddie, Sr. also had a natural talent for mechanics, and much to the benefit of his friends who had car problems, loved to work on all types of cars. If it had an engine, Eddie could make it go, and he loved to involve himself in projects where he could restore older cars back to their original classy look. But as we said, it was his friends and family that benefited the most, because he never turned down a chance to hook someone up with some mechanical work.

Loving, devoted and humble, Eddie, Sr. was not afraid of hard work and would do most anything if it involved benefitting his family. He always considered himself a Blessed man. Memorial donations may be made to the charity of one's choice.

Charity of One's Choice