Holmes, Ethel Towne 1883-1974

HOLMES, MARKEL, TOWNE, SPAULDING

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes
Date: 10/8/2014 at 14:02:46

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register
July 1974

ETHEL HOLMES
DIES AT 91

Ethel Towne Holmes, 91, a resident of the Mayflower Home, died Tuesday evening, July 16, at the Mayflower Home Health Center, following an extended illness.

The daughter of Nathan C. and Ina Markel Towne, she was born June 29, 1883, at Pella. When she was three months old, her parents moved to Des Moines where she received her education.

Mrs. Holmes was the director of the State Commission for the Blind for 30 years. In December of 1957 she moved to Grinnell to make her home at the Mayflower Home.

She is survived by a brother, George L. Towne of Des Moines, and was preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Irma Spaulding.

Friends may call at the James-Schalinske Funeral Home for additional information. Arrangements are incomplete at this time.
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Unidentified Newspaper

ETHEL HOLMES
IS DEAD AT 91

Mrs. Ethel Towne Holmes, 91, first director of the State Commission for the Blind, died Tuesday at the Mayflower Home in Grinnell, where she had lived since her retirement in 1957.

Mrs. Holmes, who became director of the commission when it was established in 1926, established a work program for home-bound blind women and started a summer school program at the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School for persons who became blind as adults.

She also added to the commission staff a job placement specialist, installed Braille switchboards in state institutions with blind persons trained to operate them and established vending stands in state buildings with blind persons operating them.

Born in Pella, Mrs. Holmes lived in Des Moines most of her life before retiring. She was a graduate of Grinnell College and during World War I was director of the YWCA Hostess House at Camp Dodge.

She was a member of the PEO and the Christian Science Church.

She is survived by a brother, George L. Towne of Des Moines.

Memorial services will be arranged later at the convenience of the family. The body has been donated to the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery.