Florence Holmes

Our beloved mother, Florence Holmes, 103, Bismarck, passed away on November 9, 2019, after a two week hospital stay at St Alexius Hospital, Bismarck.  She died as a result of a stroke which occurred on October 25, 2019.

Her funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 15, 2019, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service.

Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Bismarck.

Florence Ida Lorraine (Maier) Holmes was born July 16, 1916 to Emma (Berreth) Maier and Dr. Philip C. Maier in Zeeland, North Dakota.  She was blessed to have a full, vibrant and healthy life.

She was raised in the Linton area but after graduation from Linton High School moved with her mother to Bismarck. Since her early twenties came in the midst of the Great Depression and no monies were available for college, she turned to work as a portrait photographer at the Butler Photography Studio on Main Street in Bismarck.  Mr. Gravem, the owner, was delighted to discover that she not only had an artistic eye behind the lens of a camera as a photographer, but was also photogenic herself and he could display portraits of her in his gallery demonstrating his own photographic creativity. 

As a special gift for his parents, a handsome young uniformed Army Air Corps pilot came to the studio one day to have his portrait taken.  Immediately smitten with his beautiful photographer, he devised a plan to spend time with her again.  He recruited his brother, also an Air Corps pilot, to have her photograph them separately and together in uniform.  He then had only his parents left – but wouldn’t it be a good idea to bring them in -- they should have portraits done as well.  After numerous sessions of photographing, she knew all of his family.  In appreciation of all the beautiful portraits he sent her bouquets of roses. That young pilot was, of course, her husband-to-be … Paul DeWitt Holmes Jr.  They were married in Marianna, Florida, on January 27, 1945, just prior to his departure for the European Theater of War in WWII. 

To that marriage 3 daughters were born:  Paulette Joy, Kathleen Louise and Florence Gayle.  Returning to farm on family land in the Menoken area after the war, Paul became ill with brain cancer. Florence was widowed at the age of 40 with three young daughters to raise.  She then worked as an auditor in the ND State Auditor’s Office for over twenty years.  She became active in Zonta Club and served as Secretary for the North Dakota Federation of Republican Women.  Encouraged to run for county office, she was elected Burleigh County Register of Deeds, holding that office for several terms until her retirement at the age of 70. 

Her mother, a formally trained tailor, introduced Florence to fashion at a very early age and instilled her belief that a woman should be a beautiful presence inside and out.  Florence lived with grace throughout her life.  A childhood friend of her daughters commented “I always looked to your mother for definition of what a lady should be”.

In her early 20’s Florence began collecting antiques long before it was fashionable to do so.  As a result, she created a lovely home environment filled with her many treasures. 

She loved cooking - firmly believing it was an art form - and continued to explore new recipes well into her late 90’s.  She believed that a delicious meal on a beautifully set table shared with loved ones was an ultimate celebration of life.  Her family holds dear the memories of those many special occasions.  She loved to embellish dinners with stories and anecdotes of her maternal grandparents, uncles and aunts and growing up in the early 20^th century.

Flower gardening was an important part of her life.  In her early years she tended the flowers herself.  Later in life others maintained the extensive display in her yard.  One year she had 1,000 tulips planted in her border and they certainly provided a gorgeous spring display.  She often proclaimed that even though she was no longer the “actual gardener”, she was still a “dedicated buyer” of beautiful nursery bulbs and plants.

China painting became an important hobby for her, and she and her daughter Paulette travelled to Europe on several occasions to tour china museums, factories, and castles where she took part in international china painter’s conventions.  She has left dozens of beautiful pieces of her china painting for her family.

Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration with family and friends were important to her.  In the past several decades she has had two beautiful Christmas trees which were put on display by Thanksgiving weekend.  One was decorated with over 300 Chinese Dragon Boat Thread Holiday Ornaments (aka Japanese Temari Koma ornaments).  She handcrafted these ornaments over the past 20 years from an extensive collection of silk and metallic embroidery threads.  Always in need of a creative artistic outlet, she found making them a perfect sit-down hobby in her 80’s and 90’s.

She always put the needs of her family ahead of herself and was happiest having her “three chicks” (daughters) nearby.  Her daughters looked to her for her abundant moral support, wisdom, guidance, opinion and quick wit (which after initial laughter could keep you smiling for hours).  She had a remarkable memory and could recount all the happenings of past events in complete detail. She has been described by many who knew and loved her as smart, spunky, sparkly, lovely, classy, and amazing.  She was a great Lady.

She leaves treasured memories for:  daughters Paulette Shaver, Kathleen Holmes, Florence Holmes, and one grandson, Wade Shaver, all of Bismarck; former son-in-law, Daryl Dietrich, Menoken, ND; one brother, Cornell C. Maier, Oakland, CA; one brother-in-law Gail (Terri) Holmes, Omaha, NE; two nieces Rondee (John) Hasson, Provo, UT, and Dee Smith, Columbus, OH; two nephews, Doug (Helen) Roesch, New York City, Dave (Kim) Roesch, Lebanon, OH; and a host of precious friends.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul DeWitt Holmes Jr., and sister-in-law, Marjorie Holmes.