“To the World you are a mother, but to your family you are the World”. These words are a true reflection of Carolyn Holmes who was a mother of four and a “Nana” to ten. Just turning eighty-one on May the 25th she died Thursday, June 9, 2022 in Jackson.
Born in the Broadway community just outside of Lexington and raised on the farm, she was one of two children born to the late Lloyd Ottis and Willie B Wilson Hearn. And fittingly, she returned to Broadway to live for the last almost twenty years of her life. While attending high school she met her future husband, Tommy Holmes, and they were married for fifty-four years until his death in 2014.
Carolyn was very proud of her children and their families. From an early age she instilled in them the value of having high standards. And when asked, always enjoyed sharing their accomplishments. Travel was one of Carolyn’s passions. She and Tommy prioritized yearly family vacations and traveled with their family extensively all over the US. From multiple Daytona Beach trips, visiting Disney World the first summer it opened and all the Ford Motor Company car showings, their travel was vast. One of the most memorable trips was an eighteen day, six thousand mile cross country adventure with all four children packed in a 1976 Ford Country Squire station wagon, complete with wood paneled exterior. As empty nesters, Carolyn and Tommy enjoyed cruises and several trips to Europe visiting Italy, Ireland and the United Kingdom. One of Carolyn’s best works was taking the entire family, nineteen in total, on a 2018 trip to Disney World. When she wasn’t traveling, Carolyn enjoyed time with her lady friends or the “lunch bunch” as she called them. And just two weeks ago she was at a family wedding and stayed at the reception until the last song was played.
Carolyn is survived by her sons: Kevin Holmes and his wife Jodi and their two daughters: Lindsay and Rachel; Chris Holmes and his wife Susan and their daughters: Hayley, Hannah and Hope; Cary Holmes and his wife Angie and their children: Chandler and Alex; and Carolyn’s daughter, Hollianne Carver and her husband Keith and their children: Carson Tarantino and her husband, Michael, Jack Thomas Carver and Britton Carver. Preceding Carolyn in death was her brother Robert Henry Hearn.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM Tuesday, June 14th at the First United Methodist Church of Lexington, where she was a member, with Rev/Dr. Chris Haynes officiating. Interment will follow in Lexington Cemetery. The Holmes family will receive friends on Monday, June 13th from 4-8 PM at Pafford Funeral Home and Tuesday morning from 10 AM until service time at the First United Methodist Church. If desired, memorials can be directed to the First United Methodist Church of Lexington and the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation Hospice House.
