Hollister ‘Ben’ Sykes, 101, Longtime
Cranford Resident, Exxon Executive
Hollister B. Sykes, 101, died on Friday, June 13, 2025, at Sunrise of Westfield, N.J. Known to many as Ben, he is survived by his wife, Adele, and two sons, Robert and Richard. Ben retired from Exxon in 1982 as Senior Vice President of Exxon’s new business operation, where he was responsible for new venture investments in computer technology and energy alternatives, including fuel cells, solar cells and electric vehicle batteries. His retirement was active, including research and teaching as an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at New York University. He was also a consultant for major corporations, including AT&T, Kodak, DuPont and Motorola, on new business development projects, and published several papers in business journals, including the Harvard Business Review and The Journal of Business Venturing.
Ben served as Chairman of the New Jersey Entrepreneurs Forum Executive Committee for six years under the sponsorship of Rutgers University, and authored several theory-of-finance papers posted on the Social Science Research Network. Most recently, he had been an active member of the Eden Autism Services Foundation.
Born on September 18, 1923 in Polson, Montana, to Earle F. Sykes and Verline Peck, Hollister was the first of four children. He became used to family moves as his teacher father progressed upward from school to school and town to town in Montana. He underwent a culture change at thirteen, when his father moved the family to New York City, where Hollister entered a public school on the edge of Harlem. Three years later, his family moved again, this time to West Chester, Pa., where his father progressed to become President of West Chester University. Hollister entered the Chemical Engineering program at the University of Pennsylvania in 1942, but his college education was interrupted for service in the Naval Reserve as an officer on a minesweeper, which cleared areas around the Panama Canal Zone and the Philippines during and after World War II. Following his Navy service, he completed his studies at Penn and then obtained a Masters degree from Princeton University in 1948. That Fall, he joined Exxon in the Engineering department, which was then located at the former Bayway Refinery, in Linden, N.J. Since 1948, except for assignments in Montana, Texas, Canada, Italy and The Hague, he has lived in New Jersey, and has been a resident of Cranford since 1952.
Ben’s visitation was from 2 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at Gray Memorial Funeral Home, 12 Springfield Avenue, Cranford, where his Prayer Service began at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Private inurnment will be in Fairview Cemetery in Westfield. Memorial contributions may be made to Eden Autism Services, at www.edenautism.org.
Please go to www.grayfuneralhomes.com to offer condolences.
June 19, 2025
