Awards

Honorary Degree - 1986

LL.D.

Doctor of Laws

Riley Dedication

Indianapolis, Indiana

Presenter: John William Ryan

About Byron Pierce Hollett

Byron P. “Barney” Hollett (1915-1999), Indianapolis attorney and member of a family linked to the founding of Indiana state government and Indianapolis, was a former senior partner of Baker & Daniels. He served as counsel to the law firm at the time of his death. Hollett was a director of Banc One Indiana Corp. and Bank One, Indianapolis (formerly American Fletcher National Bank); Lilly Endowment; and the Clowes Fund.

Hollett was a member of the board of governors of the James Whitcomb Riley Memorial Association (now the Riley Children’s Foundation) from 1957-1999. Awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws in 1986 by Indiana University, Dr. Morris Green, then Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Riley Hospital for Children, recognized Hollett’s contributions at that time: “He saw clearly the vision of building the partnership between the (Riley Memorial) Association and Indiana University to facilitate the education of pediatricians and other child health professionals, and for the advancement of pediatric research. His guidance has contributed immensely to the development of Riley Hospital over the past three decades.”

The Byron P. and Frances D. Hollett Professor of Pediatrics Nephrology was established at Riley Hospital for Children in 2002. He was also a director of United Way of Greater Indianapolis, the Indiana State Symphony Society and the Western Golf Association and a trustee of Crown Hill Cemetery and the Indiana Historical Society. Peter T. Harstad, the historical society’s executive director, said Mr. Hollett’s advice always was “rock solid.” Harstad recalled that after he took over leadership of the organization in 1984, Mr. Hollett “patiently explained many practical things to me about Indiana ways of getting things done.”

A graduate of Wabash College and the Harvard University School of Law, Mr. Hollett had been a trustee of Wabash since 1964 and had served as chairman of its board of trustees from 1975 to 1984. He received an alumni merit award and an honorary doctorate from Wabash. He had been elected a member of the Indiana Academy and had served on the board of American Colleges of Indiana. Wabash College President Andrew T. Ford remembered Mr. Hollett as “an extraordinarily devoted and able alumnus and trustee of the school.” Wabash rededicated its football stadium in 1998 as Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium in recognition of his years of work for the college.

Mr. Hollett was a member, vestryman, and former senior warden of St. Paul Episcopal Church. He served as chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis from 1964 to 1978, when he was elected chancellor emeritus. He also served as a trustee for the Southern Indiana region of Washington National Cathedral.

His uncle, the late Reginald H. Sullivan, who served two terms as Indianapolis mayor, was the great grandson of Jeremiah Sullivan, elected to the state legislature in 1820 when the capital was in Corydon. The elder Sullivan, one of the men appointed to select a new site for the state capitol, suggested that the city be named Indianapolis.

Mr. Hollett was a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II and was awarded the Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation. Frances “Fran” (Dawson) Hollett (1931-2012), was born in Grandview, Indiana on February 11, 1931 to Francis Marion and Ruth Freshley Dawson. She attended Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN. She was the widow of Rhiman A. Rotz, Sr. and Byron P. (Barney) Hollett. Fran had a very special place in her heart for Barney's Alma mater, Wabash College. She was the first woman to receive "Honorary Alumnus Status" at Wabash in 1985. In 2006, she was inducted into the Wabash College Athletic Hall of Fame. She was an active, long-time member of Meridian Street United Methodist Church, member and former director of the Woodstock Club and served as a director of the Woodstock Foundation. Her other memberships were numerous and included Crooked Stick Golf Club.