Shrewsbury – Robert Philip Holmes, 87, of Shrewsbury, died Dec. 24, 2020 after a short hospital stay from complications due to recently diagnosed pancreatic cancer. He spent his last day surrounded by his wife and daughters.
He is mourned by his wife of 65 years, Barbara Ann (Ware) Holmes; his daughters, Lorri Demers of West Boylston, Tracy (Michael Schramm) Holmes of Fayetteville, N.Y., and Karen (Barbara Malone) Holmes-Malone of Holden; his grandchildren, Brian (Amanda) and Neil (Jessica Levine) Demers, Emery and Louisa Schramm, and Matthew and Sarah Malone; his great-grandchildren, Lucia and Sierra Demers; his sister, Linda (William) Skillen; his sister-in-law, Betty Lou Robertson; and his nieces, nephews, cousins, and close friends. He was pre-deceased by his son-in-law, Luke Demers.
Bob was born on November 3, 1933 in Northbridge, MA to Philip and Hilda (Ratcliffe) Holmes, immigrants from Belfast, Northern Ireland and Bury, England, respectively, who met, married, and settled in Whitinsville. He had a pleasant small-town childhood surrounded by extended family and friends.
As a teenager his time was filled with swimming, basketball, and tennis at the Whitin Community Center, scooping ice cream at the local drug store, and acting in his high school shows. His piece-de-resistance was playing the Captain of the HMS Pinafore. Bob was a smart and dedicated student, graduating from Northbridge High School in 1951.
Bob continued his studies at Clark University, graduating with a degree in Mathematics in 1955. It was at Clark that Bob met many lifelong friends as well as the love of his life. He and Barbara married on September 10, 1955, at The First Congregational Church in Worcester. Soon after, Bob was drafted into the Army, sending the newlyweds to Maryland for two years where they both worked at the Aberdeen Proving Ground on one of the very first computer systems. After returning to Massachusetts, Bob and Barbara lived for a few years in Framingham before settling permanently in Shrewsbury to raise their family.
After his college graduation, Bob was hired by the Paul Revere Life Insurance Company in Worcester as an actuarial student. He was there for only a year before he was drafted, but was welcomed back after his two years of military service, and spent 37 years in their employ.
He became an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and then turned his attention and talents to the computer automation of actuarial work for the company. He rose to the rank of Second Vice President. He is remembered by his co-workers as a bright, kind, consummate professional who always had an opinion to share. After taking an early retirement, Bob opened a business of this own, Blue-Jay Video Services, converting customers’ pictures, slides, and home movies to video tape and later DVDs.
Bob enjoyed a lifelong passion for the ocean. It began with summer trips to Scarborough Beach in Narragansett, RI with his parents and family friends. As Bob and Barbara’s family grew, there were many camping vacations to beaches all along the east coast, with favorites including the dune-backed beaches of the outer Cape, Atlantic City, Virginia Beach, and especially a yearly trek to Myrtle Beach, SC each April. Many of these trips included Bob’s sister, Linda, who at 18 years his junior, was adored by her older brother. In later years, after their daughters were grown, Bob and Barbara took yearly trips to Barbados where they loved the pristine and empty beaches on the Atlantic side of the island. Later still they spent ever increasing amounts of time in Pompano Beach, Fla. each winter, enjoying the warmth, sun, and sand that Shrewsbury couldn’t provide.
Bob’s other passions included tennis and running. He began playing tennis in high school and continued playing several times a week well into his seventies. He’d happily play wherever there was a court and some competition, but his favorite spots were at the Greendale YMCA and court 7 of the Worcester Tennis Club. Bob began running in 1972 as part of an overall health initiative in which he also stopped smoking and lost 60 pounds. He was instrumental in arranging for locker room and shower facilities at Paul Revere for lunchtime workouts, a benefit appreciated by others for many years to come. He was well known in that locker room for his unique way of dressing, saying that if you’d spent as much time in locker rooms as he had, you knew to put your socks and shoes on first. Bob faithfully logged his runs right through the end of his life, accumulating an impressive total of over 45,000 miles.
Above all, Bob was a dedicated, responsible, and loving family man who took great pleasure and pride in watching his children and grandchildren grow and succeed. At the center of his life was his marriage and faithful devotion to Barbara. Their bond was grounded in love and mutual support, and although they each had their own interests, they shared a strong sense of values and dedication to family and friends. Although Barbara will surely miss her constant companion of nearly seventy years, in many ways he’ll be with her always.
There will be no calling hours or services at this time. When it is safe to be together again, the family will plan a gathering to celebrate Bob’s life.
