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Evelyn R. Holmes |
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December 3, 1923 ~ May 23, 2015 |
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May 26, 2015 |
 Evelyn
Ruth (Bachli) Holmes passed away on May 23,
2015. Evelyn was “91 years young." She really
did not “look” her age. Evelyn was born in
Cheyenne, Wyoming on December 3, 1923. She was
the first born of four children of a
German/Swiss immigrant father. Her mother was
American.
She grew up in Denver, Colorado, and that is
where she met her husband, Dawrence L. Holmes.
These two decided to get hitched on November 30,
1941 just “short” of Evelyn’s eighteenth
birthday. She had to get “permission,” he did
not! It was a marriage that lasted sixty-four
years.
They both worked hard and had lots of
adventures, and also raised three children, two
daughters and one son: Sandra, Ray, and Sharon.
The oldest daughter passed away in 1969.
Things were going along pretty smooth, and then
they decided they wanted a change. So they moved
to Bonners Ferry, Idaho in August 1967. They
almost had to turn back at Troy, Montana as they
were told that the Sundance Fire was going to
burn Bonners Ferry down! Undaunted, they forged
ahead and settled in Paradise Valley for
approximately 40 years. The relatives who
“persuaded” them to move to Bonners Ferry had
said, “if you move here, you’ll never get rich.
But you’ll never go hungry.”
Evelyn used to laugh about how both of those
predictions came true!
Evelyn, at one time, was a cashier at a
Woolworth’s in Denver, so she carried on as a
cashier at the Bargain Giant and Safeway in
Bonners Ferry for a number of years as well as
Fashion Crossroads. Evelyn was a knitter. She
loved to knit. She made tons of sweaters for
herself and others, and always made something
for all the grand kids and great grand kids. She
enjoyed different crafts like ceramics, and also
was terrific at embroidering dish towels. She
loved to play pinochle and was a member of
various card clubs for years. After moving to
the Boundary County Restorium she had her card
club gatherings there.
Evelyn’s favorite word was “CRIMINENTLY”. Try as
you might, you will not find this word in the
dictionary. It is an expression of annoyance or
surprise. When Evelyn said it...it meant mostly
annoyance. “For crying in a bucket” was another
favorite expression. Evelyn was a “talker” and
loved to visit with people she knew or just met.
She had a generous, helpful nature. She was just
a “good soul.”
Evelyn became a widow when her husband passed
away in 2005. That was hard for her as the only
time spent apart from Dawrence was during World
War II while he served in the Navy. But again,
undaunted, she got through it and forged ahead
to make the best of life. As stated before,
things were going along pretty smooth when she
fell and fractured her left hip. As the days
progressed she would express time and time again
that she really felt that she had had a good
life and she really was ready to go. No question
in her mind.
She was reminded by family members that she had
been an exceptionally good woman, an
exceptionally good wife, an exceptionally good
mother, an exceptionally good aunt, and an
exceptionally good grandmother and great
grandmother. That she was loved and will be
missed by a lot of people.
At the time of her death she was a resident of
the Boundary Community Hospital in the Extended
Care Facility. Just previous to that Evelyn had
lived at the Boundary County Restorium for
approximately six years. Evelyn absolutely loved
living at the restorium and didn’t hesitate to
tell you so if you asked her about it. In the
living room at the restorium there is a piano.
That is Evelyn’s piano. Evelyn played the piano
most of her life and donated her piano to the
restorium shortly after she started living
there. She played every Tuesday and twice on
Thursday. Evelyn wants it to be kept “tuned” and
“dusted,” both on a regular basis!
To remember Evelyn Ruth Holmes and her “good
life” there will be a gathering at the Boundary
County Restorium on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at 2
p.m. It would be great if you would write down
some thoughts, memories, stories, and such so
they can be read and shared by all. Evelyn loved
getting flowers, that’s for sure. But flowers
don’t last. Instead, the money that would be
spent on flowers would last longer and have a
greater benefit to the place that Evelyn called
“home” these past few years. Please use that
“flower” money and give it to the Restorium or
the Friends Of The Restorium. Evelyn Ruth
Holmes...everyone should have a life where they
get applause just for being themselves. |
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