Holmes, Marjorie S. (1921-2016)
HOLMES, HANSEN, HUSEMAN, HOFSCHULTE, SUNDERLAND
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 12/14/2016 at 22:39:30
Marjorie S. Holmes
July 24, 1921 - November 12, 2016Marjorie Serena (Hansen) Holmes, age 95, of Storm Lake, Iowa, formerly of Alta, Iowa, passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 12, 2016, at the Newell Good Samaritan Center in Newell.
Marj, the second daughter of Anna and Thomas Hansen, was born in rural Alta, Iowa. She grew up on the family farm north of Alta with her sisters, Maxine “Mickey” (Robert) Huseman of Storm Lake, Iowa, and Mardelle (Richard) Holmes, of Hastings, Minnesota. She attended Fairview Consolidated School and graduated as valedictorian of her class. She remembered riding to school in a horse-drawn school bus. She, recently, celebrated her 95th birthday.
The dedicated wife of Donald “Don” Holmes, Sr., Marj farmed with him on several farms in the Alta/Storm Lake area before retiring and moving to Lake Pointe Villa in Storm Lake in 2004. Don died in 2010, shortly before their 70th anniversary. When moving, Marj believed in scrubbing every corner of their new house and hanging up the curtains before calling the place home. She said she could just whistle and everything would jump into a box. Moreover, she worked at Alf’s Manufacturing in Storm Lake, training new employees and sewing samples for new products. She retired from there in 1986.
Don and Marj enjoyed traveling, surprising their children and friends with postcards from Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. They also made several visits to their children who all live out of state. Marj wondered why they all had to move so far away! A professional seamstress and a prolific knitter, Marj made sure every baby in her extended family received a “grandma-made” blanket, and the rest of the family, beautiful afghans. From original German and Danish patterns, she also made many hand-knitted doilies that required the use of five needles to get started. After washing and starching them, she recruited Don to help stretch and pin them on a frame to dry. In addition, she found time to read the hundreds of paperbacks she owned. She, especially, enjoyed western and Christian inspirational novels.
The mother of five children: Daphne (Dwayne) Hofschulte, of North Pole, Alaska, Donald, Jr., of Virgil, South Dakota, Dwain (Lois), of Makuma, Ecuador, Darrylin Sunderland, of Auburn, Washington, and Dennis who died in infancy, she is also survived by nine grandchildren, seventeen great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild, along with numerous nieces and nephews. Her family members live in Alaska, California, Ecuador, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, one son, and one great-granddaughter.
Most of all, by far, Marj was a child of God, living her entire adult life as a Christian. Active in the music ministry at Center Grove Evangelical Free Church in rural Alta, she played piano and organ. After the Center Grove church closed, she and Don moved to Hope Evangelical Free Church in Storm Lake and finally to Bethel Baptist Church in Newell.
Memorial services will be held Thursday, November 17, 2016, at 3:00 p.m. at Bethel Baptist Church in Newell. Burial will take place before the service in the Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery in Storm Lake. Visitation will be on Wednesday, November 16, 2016, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. The family suggests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Bethel Baptist Church, 313 Hwy 7, Newell, Iowa 50568. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements.
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