Joan Marie (Roddy) Holmes

Joan Marie (Roddy) Holmes, 1939-2021

Joanie Holmes, age 82, of Grand Marais and Minnetrista, Minnesota, and Cape Coral, Florida, passed away Oct. 24, 2021.

Born Sept. 9, 1939 in Minneapolis, she was a child of Irish and French descent and a 1957 graduate of Minneapolis Vocational High School. Small but mighty, she was an independent woman who fiercely loved her family. She lived a full life with her high-school sweetheart and husband of 63 years, Charles Brooks Holmes, and with their family of four children and 12 grandchildren. She was adventurous (a lover of the wilderness and the outdoors), she was strong (a city kid who moved her family out to the country and welcomed all the work that came with it), and she was brave (exploring the world by land, sea, and air). And she was smart. She may have been petite, but her heart was huge and her absence will leave an unfillable hole.

Joanie was always happy near water or up in the air. She loved to fish, and her notable catches include old boots, a seagull, stingrays, sharks, and halibut, along with countless smallmouth and walleye. She was an accomplished sailor, making numerous trips with friends and family in the Virgin Islands, the Florida Keys, and across Lake Superior. She earned her private pilot's license in 1985 and she flew for more than 30 years, with over 3,000 solo hours in her single-engine Piper. And she enjoyed parasailing — not just watching in the boat, but soaring in the sky with her grandkids. She was fearless!

And she was a constant whirlwind of activity. Besides being the ultimate household CEO and an amazing interior designer, she was a breeder of bulldogs, ran a berry farm, and raised sheep, ducks, geese, and a pig named Herman. She also spent time wrangling horses with her daughters. And she excelled at the hardest job of all: raising four difficult children who turned out mostly okay!

Joan was preceded in death by her father, John Phillip Roddy; mother, Lucille Hazel Roddy; and brother, Richard "Dick" Roddy. Survived by her husband of 63 years, Charles Brooks Holmes; daughters Beverly Bandimere (Clark), Rebecca Holmes-Larson (Dave), Beth Holmes (Don Bratland), and son Brooks Holmes (Elizabeth); grandchildren Sarah, Natashia (Jaron), Justin, Jack, Luke, Max, Caelan, Owen, Genevieve, Charles, Caroline, and Alexander; siblings Pat Roddy, Ellen Collins, Rita LaVoi (Keith), Marilyn Henricks, and Bill Roddy (Jan); and several nieces and nephews.

Private service at Lakewood Memorial Chapel, Nov. 6, 2021.