HOLMES, Marcus Hughes In Memory of Marcus Hughes Holmes, born Jan. 1913, at
Alsask, Saskatchewan, died Sept. 29, 2006 at Ganges, Salt Spring Island,
B.C. He grew up in Vancouver, B.C. and married Gertrude Kellett with whom he
had 2 sons, Barry and Donald. During this time, he started the Mount
Pleasant regional newspaper in West Vancouver. In 1942, Marc enlisted in the
Royal Canadian Artillery and served in England, Italy, France, Belgium and
the Netherlands. He returned to Canada in 1946, and continued his army
career until his retirement in 1962 with the rank of Major. After the death
of his wife Rudie, Marc married Nursing Sister Jean Doerr in 1959, and
settled with her on Isabella Point, Salt Spring Island in 1962. Together,
they developed a successful fruit and vegetable farm. Holmes Road on
Isabella Point is named after Marc. A strong advocate of land conservation
and maintenance of the rural character of the Gulf Islands, Marc became very
interested and active in Island politics. He served 2 terms as Regional
Director for Salt Spring on the Capital Regional Board. He was instrumental
in the regional land use planning for Salt Spring and the outer islands. He
was appointed to the Islands Trust in 1974 where he served as Vice-Chairman
for two years and another two years as Chairman. In his later years, Marc
maintained an active interest in preservation of the Island way of life.
Together with Jean, he enjoyed a well deserved full retirement and travelled
extensively to Asia, Europe and South America. He is survived by his loving
wife Jean, sons Barry (Jane), and Don (Judy), 4 grandchildren, and 6
greatgrandchildren. The family is sincerely grateful for all the loving care
given to Marc during his stay at Greenwoods. In celebration of Marc's life,
his family invite his many friends to a reception on Sunday, October 15 at
the Harbour House Hotel, Ganges, from 1 to 4 pm. 303868
Published in the Victoria Times-Colonist on 10/12/2006.