GEORGE E. HOLMES

HOLMES, George Edward passed away in his home in Sonoma on June 9, 2018, at the age of 88, after a long and adventurous life.  He was a native Californian born in Hollister to parents Georgia Berberich Holmes of Hollister and Edward Holmes of New Idria. He met his wife Jane in San Jose, and they had four children--Stephen, Gail, David and Patty.  George was a history teacher and taught in Turkey and Iran in the late sixties and early seventies. His love of travel is reflected in his children and grandchildren who have an unending curiosity to experience the world. He was an active member of the Sonoma Valley Democrats. His passion for social justice, the environment and peace inspired those around him. He had a cap collection and a hat for every occasion. He loved Sonoma and rode his bike daily around Boyes Hot Springs into his eighties. You could often find him having a coffee and chatting with locals at his favorite spot, the Barking Dog. 

We will miss his enthusiasm for life. Every meal Janie cooked, every coffee, every visit with friends and family was the best he’d ever had. His gratitude for the simple things was a reminder to us all to embrace and appreciate each moment. His essence is now transcendent. He returns in places such as his son Stephen’s love of books, antiquities and the Middle East, in David’s sense of humor and wordplay, in his daughters Gail and Patty’s nurturing of children. He returns again in his grandsons Matt, Liam and Kieran and granddaughter Laurel, and in his great granddaughter Summer’s smile. Like a mountain, a father’s presence endures. George (“GG”) is survived by Jane, his wife of 67 years, his brother Ken, his four children, four grandchildren and great granddaughter. Donations may be made to Hospice by the Bay, Sonoma.

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