Holmes, Bonnie Sue

We remember dear Bonnie Sue Holmes who died May 15, at 
age 83 after having a stroke. Sue/Mom/Granny was born at 
home on March 27, 1927 in Springdale, Arkansas to Elsie 
and Arthur Pace. Her family moved to California in 1937 
when she was nine years old. She and her brother Rolland 
and sister Virginia lived in Greenfield then moved to 
Alameda in 1942 when she was a junior in high school. Mom 
loved California and would often take her children to visit 
their great-grandmother, grandparents, aunt and cousins in 
the big old house on Santa Clara Avenue. Sue graduated 
Alameda High School in 1944 at age 17 and went on to 
nurse's training at Highland Hospital with the Nurse's Cadet 
Corps. She enjoyed reunions with her nurse friends for over 
50 years. Her beloved brother Rolland died at the battle of 
Okinawa serving on the USS Bowers in April 1945. After 
receiving her RN, she moved to Washington and got her BS 
at Whitworth College where she met the man she would 
marry. She and David Leon Holmes married in Alameda 
December 26, 1949. She was a loyal supporter of her 
husband's football coaching career, keeping scrapbooks 
and cheering in the stands at every game. Dave passed 
away in 1999. She and her new family started out in 
Tonasket, Washington and grew close to the extended 
Holmes clan living in the area. Over the years they lived in 
Spokane, Cheney, Kailua, Hawaii and back to Spokane 
where she had been in the same house since 1974. While in 
Hawaii, Sue earned a Masters of Public Health at the 
University there. She also studied at University of California, 
Berkeley. Sue/Mom/Granny was loved by all who knew her. 
She was kind, generous, witty, a great cook, and always the 
smartest one in the room. She was an active member of 
Spokane Valley United Methodist Church. She loved to read 
and was part of a writing group at the local senior center. 
She was a good nurse who enjoyed caring for her family, 
working in the nursery at Sacred Heart Hospital and 
volunteering for Planned Parenthood as well as the Red 
Cross for many years. She will be forever loved and missed 
by her children Nancy, Rocky, Sue Anne and Jill, by her 
grandchildren Shawn, Gabe, Caleb, Lela and David, by her 
great-grandchildren Joshua, Stevie and Michelle, and her 
sister Virginia Brown, nephew Doug Guerrero and niece 
Jamie Burghardt. A memorial service will be held at Spokane 
Valley United Methodist Church on Saturday, May 22 at 6 
pm. There will be a potluck afterward at the church. All are 
welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the 
Dave Holmes Scholarship fund at Eastern Washington 
University Foundation or to Spokane Public Radi 

Published in Spokesman-Review from May 16 to May 17, 
2010