Lloyd Ivan Holmes

Lloyd Ivan Holmes, 82, passed away at his home in Logan on November 15, 2008, after an arduous 15-year battle with cancer. In his final hours, he was surrounded by immediate family members who offered love and support, including his primary caregiver and beloved wife of more than 63 years, Ethel Fern Walker Holmes. Lloyd I. Holmes was born Dec. 3, 1925, in Harper Ward, Utah, to Gideon Martin Holmes and Lenora Hunter Holmes. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Ralph, Glen, Grant and Dale; and sisters Elma Conner and Velma Holmes. He is survived by sisters Joyce Charles Johnson of Ogden, Karma Wood of Rocklin, Ca., and Nora Rasmussen of Brigham City. As a child, Lloyd learned to work hard on the family farm, and he later taught his children and grandchildren to "hoe to the end of the row." He always gave his best in his work and expected others to do the same. Lloyd established – and practiced -- this motto throughout his life with his wife: "Do whatever we could . . . with whatever we had . . . wherever we were . . . at any given time." Lloyd joined the United States Navy in mid-November 1943 and obtained enough credits through military training to graduate from Box Elder High School with his class. He served in the American Pacific and Asiatic theaters during WWII; he was a petty officer 2nd class, ARM 2/c and a qualified radioman, gunner and radarman. Lloyd was a crewman on a PBM-5A Mariner and witnessed the signing of the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay as the war ended. Lloyd married the love of his life, Fern Walker, in the Logan LDS Temple on Dec. 15, 1944. Together they raised three children and established a fine posterity that continues his legacy today -- Dallas Lloyd Holmes LeAnn of Logan, Utah; Sandra Lou Holmes Walsh Robert of North Salt Lake, Utah; and Connie Jean Holmes Webb Douglas of Sandy, Utah; 12 grandchildren and spouses; and 20 great-grandchildren. Lloyd and Fern Holmes retired to Cache Valley in 1986 after a career that took them to destinations in Utah; Illinois; Washington, D.C.; San Salvador, El Salvador; Quito, Ecuador; and Bogota, Colombia. Lloyd served abroad as a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service for 11 years. He was a graduate of Weber Junior College, and holds a bachelor's and master's degree from Utah State University and pursued doctoral studies at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign and the United States Department of Agriculture graduate school. He was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in leadership positions as an Elder, Seventy and High Priest. He and Fern delighted in providing financial support to all of their grandchildren who served missions for the church and assisted many others in their ward and community. Lloyd was an avid reader who relished his daily dose of the Wall Street Journal. He also loved to escort his children, grandchildren and other visitors around northern Utah and southern Idaho on excursions that his immediate family called "history lessons." He knew where to find the prettiest canyons in the autumn and where deer, geese and wild turkeys were likely to be hiding. He loved to travel, and he and his wife visited throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Central and South America, China, Russia and many other foreign destinations. The family wishes to express their gratitude to Intermountain Hospice of Cache Valley -- especially Janine -- for their compassionate care and service. A viewing will be held on Friday, Nov. 21, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Nelson Funeral Home, 162 East 400 North, Logan. A funeral service to celebrate the life of Lloyd I. Holmes will be conducted on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 11:00 a.m. at the LDS Hillcrest 1st Ward, 875 North 1500 East in Logan. A viewing will be held prior to the funeral service; from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Interment will be at the Honeyville Cemetery in Box Elder County. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Perpetual Education Fund or a worthy humanitarian project. Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.nelsonfuneralhome.com .