Howard Robert Holmes

After a five-year battle with Kidney disease, Howard went to rest in his sleep on the 9th of July, 2025, just two months shy of his 99th birthday.

Born in Flushing, NY, Howard was the firstborn of Howard Hans Holmes and Helen Hawkinson Holmes. Howard grew up during the country’s Great Depression and lived a long and full life beginning with his service in the US Navy during WW2. He then graduated from Hofstra University with a degree in Data Processing, a path that would shape his career for the next several decades. He was a highly respected employee for Monroe County and The Rochester Institute of Technology, before moving into the sales department at Specialized Printed Forms and ultimately retiring from the sales department of Information Associates. His sales career allowed him and Lucy to travel the world. His Data Processing degree and employment experience allowed him to pass on his knowledge to others, as an instructor in Data Processing at the Rochester Business Institute for many years.

Howard is survived by his wife, Lucy Marshall Holmes; six of his nine children, Kathleen Bloom, Kailua, HI; Julie Hamer, Estacada, OR; Debra Spinks, Franklinville, NC; Larry Holmes, Ewa Beach, HI; Matt Holmes, Meridian, ID; Peter Holmes, Livermore, CA; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In his later years, Howard became ‘PaPa’ to Lucy’s granddaughter, Dalynn Taylor, and their bond remained strong for the twenty-five years that they spent together. He is also survived by Lucy’s children, Stuart Rowe, Ocala, Fl; Ginger Rowe, Issaquah, WA; and David Rowe, Henrietta, NY; and his sister-in-law, Norma Zumsteg, Wilmington, DE.

Howard is preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Marilyn Holmes Olson, Briarcliff Manor, NY and brother, Kenneth Holmes, Wilmington, DE; his second wife, Betty June Holmes and his children, Howard Holmes, Jr., Joanne (Jody) Holmes, and Jonathan Holmes, and their mother, Patricia Mahaulu.

Howard was a generous man, supporting his church and numerous charities whose missions touched him. Howard “adopted” all of the children who came into his life through his marriages and treated them as his own by always being available with knowledge, advice, and encouragement.

Howard was an active person, a skier and a member of the 90+ Ski Club, an ice skater, a fisherman and a golfer, and was one of the original members of the Blue Heron Hills Country Club. He was an avid Buffalo Bills fan but always enjoyed watching Patrick Mahomes play.

Howard was a euphonium player dating back to his time in high school and continuing fifty years later, where he performed with the New Horizons Symphonic Band. One of his great joys that came from his playing in the New Horizons Band was attending band camps all across the United States and even attending a camp held on the opposite side of the earth in Australia.

Howard’s life will be celebrated during Sunday Service at the Henrietta United Church of Christ on August 31, 2025 at 10 am with an ice cream social to follow, since ice cream was Howard’s favorite food group! The church is located at 1400 Lehigh Station Rd, Henrietta, NY 14467. Memorials might be directed to the church Mortgage Fund at PO Box 430, Henrietta, NY 14467 or visit HenriettaUCC.org for more information.