Mary "Pete" Holmes

Life is about living and Mary "Pete" Holmes was a woman full of life. She was vivacious and vibrant and so much fun to be around. Pete was completely content to live in the moment, appreciating the family, friends and events that brought her life extraordinary joy. A devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend, Pete's smile and laughter filled each day with sunshine.

The year was 1924 and Calvin Coolidge had assumed the presidency after the death of President Harding the prior year. Prohibition laws were creating legends out of the gangsters and bootleggers and J. Edgar Hoover became the head of the FBI. For Joseph McDermott and his wife, Dena (Van Sluyter), of Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1924 was a year of excitement and joy as well as they welcomed the birth of their daughter, Mary Ellen, on November 22nd. She was the youngest of two girls; her sister, Lorentine, was ten years her elder. Like most fathers, Joseph wanted a son, but instead he gave his girls each boy nicknames - Lorentine was "Jack" and Mary was "Pete." Most everyone knew the girls by these names and it carried on with them throughout their lives.

Along with her sister, Pete grew up on the west side of Grand Rapids. When she was a young girl, she was hit by a car and dragged more than 60 feet, and has many scars as a reminder. Pete went to school at St. James Elementary and later graduated from Union High School in 1942. It was in high school that Pete made lifelong friends with many young ladies, and they called their group of friends the "Club." Throughout their lives, they remained closely connected, spending lots of time laughing and talking together, playing golf, cards and traveling together with their husbands.

Some of Pete's most memorable childhood memories were made at her parents' cottage on Big Whitefish Lake. The family spent just about every weekend up there, where Pete loved to swim in the Lake and her parents loved to entertain and throw big parties. It was also while at the cottage that Pete met the love of her life, Max Holmes, while roller skating at the nearby rink. The two hit it off right away, and it wasn't long before love began blossoming between them. Then, Max enlisted in the Army Air Force and went to New York for training. Pete would go up to visit Max, although he was supposed to be in training, and on May 11, 1943, they were happily married. For a while, the newlyweds moved around a bit, when Max was stationed at a few other bases. When he was finally sent overseas during World War II, Pete moved back to her family in Grand Rapids and went to work at various jobs in the downtown area, including Bylsma's Dairy.

Following the war, Max returned to the states and was stationed in St. Louis. Pete wasted no time in joining her husband there, but once he received his honorable discharge, they moved back to Grand Rapids. The couple lived with Pete's parents for a while, but then bought the family cottage from her parents on the Lake and made their first home together there. Their first winter at the cottage, however, was a bit challenging for Pete, who was pregnant with their first child and the cottage did not have indoor plumbing. She often told of how the snow was up to her belly that winter as she made her way to the bathroom. By the end of the next summer, the couple and their firstborn son, Patrick, moved to a house on 14th Avenue, just off of Lake Michigan Drive. It was here they welcomed the birth of their second son, Larry, who completed the Holmes household. Over the next 58 years, the family filled this home with lots of love, laughter and great memories. Like in her childhood, Pete and Max took their sons to the cottage just about every weekend, where they made many unforgettable memories together. A socialite herself, Pete loved to entertain not only her family at the cottage, but friends and of course, the "Club". They eventually sold the cottage after the boys were grown and they retired. Instead, golf became thier main focus.

Pete worked as a bookkeeper at Breens Delivery Service, which had flexible hours so she could be home with her boys. Later on, when she and Max both retired, they began spending the winter months in Florida for more than 20 years. Here, they enjoyed playing cards with friends and golfing, which they both loved. Back at home, the two frequented the Highlands for a round of golf where they had been members since 1976. When it came to her more quiet moments at home, Pete enjoyed reading a good mystery or adventure novel, or doing a crossword puzzle with her morning coffee. Max loved gardening, and Pete was a great cook, so she would cook up much of his vegetables and also can them. She often offered some of the vegetables to friends who came by, but the catch was they had to pick'em themselves.

It was said that Pete was a creature of habit and had a set routine that she and Max followed. Her days started with coffee and a crossword puzzle, then around 4:30 p.m. she and Max had an afternoon cocktail (hers was usually a vodka and Squirt) and to finish the day off, at 10 p.m. (when the freezer was in defrost mode) they'd head to the freezer for some easily scoopable ice cream. Aside from her customary days, Pete could be unpredictable when it came to her opinion, which was in her eyes always right. She would fight to the end to make you see it her way. Pete was also a very frugal-minded lady who was never concerned about material possessions. She could stretch a dollar and saved things she knew could be used again. However, Pete was never stingy when it came to sharing her love with her family and friends. Pete truly knew how to enjoy, cherish and celebrate every moment that life had to offer. She will be dearly missed.

Mary Ellen Holmes, "Pete", age 82, passed away peacefully on March 15, 2007, in Plant City, Florida. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Max; her two loving sons and their wives: Patrick and Mary Lou Holmes and Larry and Debbie Holmes; her grandchildren: Julie Holmes, Kelli Holmes, Kim and Tom Holloway, Joe and Amy Sremba, Sally Sremba and Ken Sremba; 4 great grandchildren; her beloved "Club" members of over 60 years: Jack and Mary Boonstra, Mary Ann and Bob Alber, Jim Jett, Patsy and Armen Oumedian, Ed and Betty Wieck. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Dena McDermott, and her sister, Lorentine O'Connor "Jack". A service to celebrate her life will be held on Wednesday, March 21, at 2 p.m. at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home - Alt & Shawmut Hills Chapel, 2120 Lake Michigan Drive NW, Grand Rapids, where relatives and friends are invited to meet with her family on Tuesday, March 20, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. For those who wish, memorial contributions may be made to Forest Hills Relay for Life (benefiting the American Cancer Society). Please visit www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory or photo of Pete or sign her online guest book.